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et  de  liaut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
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illustrent  la  m6thode. 


1 

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/U3. 


THE 


Discoveries    of    America 


\ 


TO  THE  YEAR    1 525 


BY 


ARTHUR  JAMES   WEISE,  M.A. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW   YORK  :    27  &   29   WEST   23D    STREET 
LONDON:   35   HENRIETTA  STREET,   COVENT  GARDEN 

1884 


69609 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  .883.  by 

ARTHUR  JAMES  WEISE 
!n  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


^O^' 


fl" 


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Press  of 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New  York 


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1 


THIS   WORK    IS   DEDICATED 
BY   THE   AUTHOR 

TO 

THE   MEMORY   OF 

HIS  DECEASED   WIFE 

CATHARINE   V.    UPDEGRAFF   WEISE 


PREFACE. 


It  is  a  fact  that  America  in  the  early  agfes  was  one 
of  the  inhabited  parts  of  the  earth.  The  Egyptians, 
who  were  among  the  first  of  the  peoples  of  the  east- 
ern hemisphere  to  use  letters  and  to  write  history,  fur- 
nish the  earliest  known  account  of  the  inhabitants  of 
this  continent.  It  is  also  a  truth  that  some  ancient 
geographers  and  philosophers,  who  had  no  personal 
knowledge  of  the  existence  of  a  primitive  people  in 
the  western  hemisphere,  regarded  the  information  re- 
corded by  the  Egyptians  as  fictitious  and  incredible. 
V/hen  Columbus  proposed  to  go  to  this  inhabited 
realm  beyond  the  western  ocean  almost  all  the  learned 
men  of  Portugal  and  Spain  opposed  the  undertaking  as 
visionary,  and  not  a  few  of  them  asserted  that  the  navi- 
gator's opinions  were  absurd,  because,  as  they  argued, 
no  one  of  all  the  seamen  who  had  lived  since  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world  had  discovered  land  beyond  Hibernia. 

The  discovery  of  the  continent  and  the  subsequent 
explorations  of  the  Spaniards  not  only  confuted  the 
fallacious  arguments  of  the  learned  men  of  the  middle 
ages  but  confirmed  the  statements  of  the  Egyptian 
records  descriptive  of  the  civilization  of  the  Atlantic 
country.  The  tradition  of  the  peopling  of  the  conti- 
nent by  the  descendants  of  Euenor,  the  good  man  be- 
gotten in  the  beginning  from  the  ground,  and  of  the 
residence  o^"  celestial  beings  among  the  nhabitants 
peculiarly  confirms  the   account  in   the  Bible  of  the 


vi 


PREFACE. 


creation  of  the  first  man  from  the  dust  of  the  ground 
and  of  his  descendants  having  communications  with 
angels. 

The  asserted  discovery  of  America  by  the  North- 
men rests  more  upon  conjecture  than  evidence.  It 
appears  that  Columbus  was  not  the  discoverer  of  the 
continent,  for  it  was  seen  in  1497  not  only  by  Giovanni 
Caboto  but  by  the  commander  of  the  Spanish  fleet 
with  whom  Amerigo  Vespucci  first  sailed  to  the  New 
World. 

The  land  of  Francesca,  discovered  by  Verrazzano  in 
1524,  it  will  be  seen,  was  early  possessed  by  the 
French,  who  built  a  fort  near  the  Indian  village  where 
now  is  the  city  of  New  York,  and  called  the  surround- 
ing country  La  Terre  d'  Anorm^e  Berge  ;  a  geograph- 
ical designation  more  significantly  expressed  in  the 
phraseology,  The  Land  of  the  Palisades. 

The  writing  of  this  work  required  the  personal  ex- 
amination of  many  old  and  rare  books,  manuscripts, 
and  maps,  besides  the  perusal  of  a  large  number  of 
recent  papers  and  publications  relating  to  its  subject. 
The  task  further  demanded  a  careful  review  and  com- 
parison of  the  various  statements  of  historical  writers 
concerning  the  voyages  of  the  persons  whom  they  be- 
lieved to  have  been  the  disco  \rerers  of  certain  parts  of 
the  coast  of  America,  between  Baffin's  Bay  and  Tierra 
del  Fuego. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  some  of  the  information  con- 
tained in  the  different  works  which  I  had  examined 
should  be  presented  in  the  language  of  the  writers  or 
in  faithful  translations  so  that  the  intended  significance 
of  the  information  could  be  perceived  by  the  reader. 
I  therefore  have  placed  these  excerpta  before  the 
general  reader  and  the   critic  in  the  belief  that  the 


PREFACE. 


Vll 


citations  will  be  appreciated.     They  will  at  least  show 
my  desire  that  the  judgments  of  those  who  examine 
them  should  not  be  biased  by  any  conclusions  of  my  own. 
My  researches  were  for  the  most  part  made  in  the 
General  Library  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in  Albany. 
The  generous  personal  interest  taken  by  the   State's 
distinguished  librarian,    Henry  A.   Homes,  LL.D.,  in 
placing  before  me  the  large  number  of  works  which  I 
desired  to  examine,  was  so  constant  and  helpful   that 
it  is  a  great  pleasure  for  me  to  mention  and  acknowl- 
edge his   kind    offices.     I    am   also    indebted   to   his 
assistant,   George    Rogers   Howell,  for   many   official 
courtesies.      I    also   owe   my   thanks   to    George    H. 
Moore,    LL.D.,   the   erudite    superintendent    of    the 
Lenox  Library,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  to  Frederick 
Saunders,  librarian  of  the  Astor  Library,  to  Jacob  B. 
Moore,  librarian  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society, 
and  to    Leopold  Lindau,  librarian    of  the    American 
Geographical  Society.     The  offices  of  L'Abbd  A.  N. 
Menard,    vicar    of    the    parish   of    St.    Roch,    Paris, 
France  ;  of  Pddre  Antonio  Ceriani,  prefect  of  the  Am- 
brosian  Library,  Milan,  Italy  ;  of  Jules  Godeby,  profes- 
sor of  French  literature  in  the  Rensselaer  Polytechnic 
Institute,  Troy,  New  York  ;  and  of  Dr.  Titus  Munson 
Coan,  of  New  York  City,  place  me  under  many  obliga- 
tions to  these  gentlemen.     It  is  also  a  great  pleasure 
for   me   to  acknowledge   the   generous  favors   c*    E. 
Thompson    Gale,   of  Troy,   which    permitted   me   to 
accomplish  the  purposes  that   I   had  in    view   when, 
eight  years  ago,  I  undertook  my  long-protracted  task. 
The  kind  offices  of  my  friend,  William  H.  Young,  of 
Troy,  are  also  gratefully  remembered. 

Trov,  N.  y.,  Arthur  James  Weise. 

March  27,  1884. 


TABLE  OP    CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PACK. 

Antiquity  of  the  red  raco.    An  antediluvian   people.    Vestiges  of  an 

ancient  civilization  in  America.  Records  of  Lgypt.  Manuscripts  of 
Solon,  the  great  Greek  legislator.  Origin  oi'  the  aborigines  of  the 
western  hemisphere.  Founders  of  an  empire.  The  tradition  pre- 
served by  the  Egyptians.  Early  navigation  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
Isolation  of  the  people  of  the  western  continent.  The  Nf^nhmen. 
Iceland  found.  Greenland  explored.  Saga  of  Eric  the  Red.  Voy- 
age of  Bjarni,  Ilerjulf's  son.  Explorations  of  Leif,  the  son  of  Eric 
the  Red.  Tradition  concerning  Thorfinn  Karlsefne.  Discovery  of 
Vinland.  Its  geographical  situation.  The  stone  tower  at  Newport. 
Dighton  rock.  Voyage:  of  the  Welsh  adventu-er  Madoc.  Discoveries 
o.  the  Zeui  brothers.  Story  of  a  Frisland  h&iterman.  Estotiland. 
Drogio 1-50 

CHAPTER  II. 
Arrival  of  three  strangely  clad  travellers  in  Venice.  Their  surprising  dis- 
closures.  The  book  of  Marco  Polo.  Marvellous  wealth  of  Cathtiy. 
Gola-covered  palaces.  Magnificent  cities.  Extensive  traffic.  The 
jmpire  of  the  Grand  Khan.  The  travels  of  Sir  John  Mandeville. 
Commerce  of  Europe  restricted.  Use  of  the  mariner's  compass.  An 
age  of  superstition.  Points  of  the  compass-card.  Geographical  en- 
thusiasm of  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal.  Explorations  along  the  coast 
of  Africa.  The  astrolabe  made  useful  to  navigators.  The  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  reached 51-69 

CHAPTER   III. 

Christopher  Columbus's  conception  of  finding  a  short  and  direct  way  to 
India.  His  reasonable  conclusions.  Statements  of  ancient  geogra 
phers.  The  known  parts  of  the  world.  Circumference  of  the  earth. 
Inferences  respecting  pieces  of  wood  and  dead  bodies  cast  upon  the 
islands  lying  off  the  west  coast  of  Africa.  Island  of  the  Seven  Cities. 
Letter  of  Paolo  Toscanelli.  Distance  to  Catliay.  Columbus's  over- 
tures to  the  king  of  Portugal.  Bartolome  Columbus  visits  England. 
Christopher  Columbus  seeks  aid  in  Spain.  The  opinion  of  the 
learned  men  respecting  his  project.  The  friendly  offices  of  Friar  Juan 
Perez.  Luis  de  Santangel's  proposals  to  Queen  Isabella.  Columbus 
commissioned  to  undertake  a  voyage  to  Cathay  ....        70-93 

ix 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


The  object  of  Columbus's  voyage.  His  journal.  His  intent'on  to  make  a 
map  of  the  lands  of  the  ocean.  The  vessels  of  the  feet.  They  sail 
from  the  port  of  Palos.  The  fears  of  the  sailors.  Variations  of  the 
needle.  The  Sea  of  Sargasso.  Incidents  of  the  voyage.  Discovery 
of  land.  Island  of  San  Salvrdor.  Columbus's  description  of  the 
people  and  the  islands.  He  believes  that  he  had  reached  the  con- 
tinent of  Asia,  and  that  he  was  near  the  dominions  of  the  Grand 
Xhan  of  Cathay.  He  sends  embassadors  to  the  sovereign  of  the 
Orient,  His  letter  to  Rafael  Sanchez.  The  high  latitude  to  which 
he  sailed.  A  fort  erected  at  La  Navidad,  on  the  island  of  Espanola. 
The  profits  of  the  voyage.  Columbus  sets  sail  for  Spain.  Anchors 
in  the  Tagus,  Visits  the  king  of  Portugal.  Returns  to  Spain. 
Enthusiasm  of  the  people.     His  reception  at  Barcelona       .        .     94- 

CHAPTER  V. 


PAGE 


144 


J 


Territorial  privileges  of  Portugal  and  Spain.  A  line  of  demarkation 
designated  by  Pope  Alexander  VI.  The  East  and  the  West  Indies. 
Columbus's  second  voyage.  The  Caribbees.  The  Villa  de  la  Nav- 
idad burned.  The  town  of  Isabela  built.  Further  explcrntions  of 
the  coast  of  Cuba.  Depositions  taken  that  Columbus  had  reached  the 
dominions  of  the  Grand  Khan,  The  cemies  of  the  people  of  Espanola. 
The  liomewan'  age.  Ignorance  of  pilots  respecting  latitude  and 
longitude.  Coju.-ibus's  compasses.  Amerigo  Vespucci's  first  voyage 
to  tlie  Ne'v  World.  Lands  on  the  coasl  of  South  America.  Describes 
the  natives.  The  count  y  of  Lariab.  Columbus's  third  voyage.  He 
surveys  the  continent.  Explore  the  coast  of  La  Tierra  de  Gracia. 
Amerigo  Vespucci's  second  voyage.  Sails  along  the  north  coast  of 
South  America.  Traffics  for  pearls  with  the  nadves.  Returns  to 
Cadiz.  Coluinbus's  last  voyage.  The  edifices  of  Veragua.  The 
evidences  of  civilizafioji.  Writes  that  he  reached  the  province  of 
Mango,  contiguous  to  Cathay.  Dies  at  Valladolid.  His  nautical 
chart.    Juan  de  la  Cosa's  great  ox-hide  map       ....    145--135 

CHAPTER  VL 

England  sends  ships  to  search  for  a  navigable  way  to  the  Indies.  The 
first  voyage  of  Giovanni  Caboto.  Pasqualigo's  account  of  it.  Dis- 
covery of  the  territory  of  the  Grand  Khan.  The  flag  of  England  and 
that  of  St.  Mark  planned  on  the  coast  of  the  new  country.  Prima 
Tierra  Vista.  The  island  of  St.  John.  Caboto's  second  voyage.  The 
dispatches  of  Pedro  de  Ayala  to  King  Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella 
of  Spain.  The  voyages  of  Sebastiano  Caboto.  His  explorations 
along  ♦he  coast  of  Labrador.  La  f  ierra  de  los  Bacallaos.  Sebastiano 
Caboto's  maps  and  manuscripts  .......    18&-204 

I  CHAPTER  VII. 

yThe  Portuguese  rc-xh  the  Indies.     Lpnd  of  the  Holy  Cross  discoverer?  by 
Pedro  Alvarez  Cabral.     Caspar  Cortereaf?  voyages.     Letter  of  T>ieuo 


0f:. 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 


XI 


PAGE 

Pasqualigo.  Terra  Verde.  Amengo  Ve«DUcci*s  third  and  fourth 
voyages  along  ihe  east  coast  of  South  America.  Johann  Kuysch's 
map.  Martin  VValdseemuIler's  suggestion.  The  name  of  America. 
A  Tountain  of  vivific  water.  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  explores  the  coast 
of  Florida.  Vasco  Nufiez  de  Balboa  beholds  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The 
coast  of  Yucatan  explored  by  Francisco  Hernando  de  Cordoba. 
The  discoveries  of  Juan  de  Grijalva.  The  cou\itry  of  New  Spain. 
The  expedition  of  Hernando  Cortes.  The  magnificent  presents  sent 
him  by  Montezuma.  Tlie  populated  provinces  of  Mexico.  Great 
cities.  Large  temples.  Decorated  idols.  Cortes  enters  the  city  of 
Mexico.  Its  palaces,  markets,  and  arsenals  The  horrible  sacrifices 
of  the  Mexicans.     The  siege  of  the  city 205-274 

CHAPTER  VIK. 

The  discoveries  of  Alonsc  Alvr.rez  de  Pineda.  The  project  of  Francisco 
de  Garay.  An  unfortunate  undertaking.  The  discovery  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River.  The  jurisdictions  of  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  and  Fran- 
cisco de  Garay.  Another  exploration  of  a  part  of  the  coast  of  North 
America.  Chicora.  Daharhe.  Tall  p-iople.  Habits  of  the  natives. 
Tierra  de  Ayllon.  The  voyage  of  Fcrnam  de  Magalhaens.  Dis^ 
covery  of  the  Strait  of  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins.  The  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  Moluccas  or  Spice  Islands  reached.  Voyage  of  Juan 
Sebastian  del  Cano.  The  »arth  'rciimnavigated.  The  congress  of 
Badajos 2T5-2';6 

CHAPTER  IX. 

France  emulates  Portugal,  Spain,  and  England.  Discoveries  of  the 
Bretons  and  the  Normans.  Explorution  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River. 
Giovanni  da  Veirazzano  put  in  command  of  a  fleet  to  sail  to  Cathay 
by  Francis  I.  The  king  of  Portugal  attempts  to  prevent  the  sailing 
of  the  vessels.  Storm  in  the  North  Sea.  Departure  of  the  Dauphine. 
Verrazzano  reaches  ;he  coast  of  North  America.  Designates  his  first 
landing-place  Diepa.  Fn  iiless  soarch  for  a  harbor.  Friendly  sav- 
ages. Description  of  the  country.  Palmetto  trees.  Sails  northward. 
Ex;  lorations  of  the  peninsula  of  Virginia.  The  Dauphine's  anchorage 
at  Sandy  Hook.  Verrazzano  explores  the  bays  of  New  York.  The 
Grande  River.  Block  Island.  The  Dauphine  in  Narragansett  Bay. 
Description  of  the  natives.  Exploration  of  the  coast  of  M.ime.  Five 
hundred  and  two  'eagues  of  land  inspected.  Fr'  ncesca.  Verrazzano's 
geographical  explanation  of  his  voyage.  Arrival  ;^f  'he  Dauphine  at 
Dieppe 297-334 

CHAPTER  X. 
{Aiidenda.) 
Circuktion  of  the  news  of  Verrazzano's  remarkable  discove/ies.  Fernando 
Carli'i  letter  to  his  father.  The  adverse  opinion  of  the  people  con- 
cerning Veirazzano 's  undertaking.  The  navigator  regarded  as  another 
Amerigo  Vespucci,  another  Magellan,  Three  ships  equipped  to  sail 
to  the  Indies  under  the  command  of  Verrazzano.     His  third  voyage 


xii 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 
to  the  New  Land.     The  indomitable  Florentine  falls  a  victim  to 
savage  cruelty.     His    body   roasted  and   eaten.     Ramusio's  worthy 
tribute.     The  navigator's  great  parchment  map.    The  Maiollo  map. 
Hieronymus  da  Verrazzano's  chart 335-343 

CHAPTER   XI. 

(Addenda.) 
The  French  again  search  for  a  direct  water-route  to  India.  Voyages  of 
Jacques  Cartier.  The  names  given  to  the  natives  of  the  New  Land, 
The  pea'jants  of  New  France.  The  Hudson  explored  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  French  name  for  the  Palisades,  The  country  of  the 
Grand  Scarp.  Manants  Island.  A  small  fort  built  by  the  French  on 
the  site  of  New  York  City.  The  chateau  on  Castle  Island,  near  the 
site  of  Albany.  The  structure  damaged  by  a  freshet.  The  Mohawk 
Indians  show  the  ruins  to  the  Dutch  explorers  of  the  river  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  Hollanders  call  it  Fort  Nassau.  The 
opinion  of  the  Dutch  inhabitants  of  Albany  respecting  the  people  who 
lii-.iU  it 344-363 

Index .    365-380 

COPIES  OF  RARE  MAPS. 

I. — Delineation  of  the  hypcrbo.-ean  regions  by  Sigurd  Stephanius  in 

IS70 22 

II, — A  part  of  the  map  of  the  New  World  contained  in  the  edition  of 

Ptolemy's  geography  printed  in  Strasburg  in  1 5 13.  ,  .  .  124 
III. — A  part  of  the  Cabot-map  of  lS44i  in  the  Bibiloth^que  nationale, 

Paris 190 

IV. — Map  of  the  New  World  contained  in  Peter  Martyr's  "  Legatio 

B?.bylonica,"  printed  in  1511 220 

V. — A  tracing  .-epresenti-g  the  limits  of  the  discoveries  of  Juan  Ponce 

de  Leon  an  1  Francisco  de  Garay.    1521 278 

VI. — A  part  of  the  map  of  the  fourth  part  of  the  world  contained  in  the 

Cosmographie    Universelle   by  Andr^   Thevet,    printed    in    Paris 

in  1575 304 

VII. — Map  of  Terre  de  la  Franciscane  in  the  cosmography  of  Jean  Al- 

phonse  and  Raulin  .Secalart,  1545 354 

VIII. — Map  of  a  part  of  North  America  made  by  Giacomo  de    Gastaldi 

in  1553 356 

IX. — A  part  of  the  map  of  the  \rorld  made  by  Gerard  Mercator  in  Du- 

isburg  in  1-569  , 360 

X, — A  part  of  the  map  of  the  world  made  by  Juan  de  la  Cosa  in 

1500  .        .        .        .        .        .        .       ■.        .  cover-pocket 

XI. — A  part  of  the  map  of  the  world  made  by  Johann  Ruysch,  con- 
tained »n    the  edition  of  Ptolemy's  geography  printed  in  Rome 

in  1508 cover-pocket 

XII.—A  part  of  the  map  of  the  world  made  by  Visconte  de  Maiollo  in 

1537         •••••••••  cover-pocket 


DISCOVERIES    OF    AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  oldest  scriptures,  sacred  and  profane,  attest 
the   antiquity   of  the   red   race.'      As   early   as    the 
antediluvian  period  this  division  of  the  human  family 
had  taken  possession  of  the  islands  and  continent  of 
the  western  hemisphere,  where  it  founded  an  empire, 
the  most  famous   and   formidable  of  primeval  times.' 
Great  in  political  power,  its  commercial,  agricultural,* 
and  other  economical  interests  were  commensurably 
vast  and  unparaiieled.      The  skill  of  its  architects  and 
engineers  was  exhibited  in  large  and   imposing  edi- 
fices and  in  extraordinary  and  extensive  public  works. 
Aggressively  belligerent,  its  armies  overran   parts   of 
Europe  and  Africa,  exacting  tribute,  deposing  and  sub- 
stituting rulers. 

When  the  Spaniards,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  began 
to  explore  the  interior  of  the  continent  of  America 
for  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones,  they  found  popu- 
lated provinces,  great  cities,  temples,  palaces,  aque- 
ducts, canals,  bridges,  and  causeways.  The  astonished 
adventurers  also  discovered  the  vestiges  of  an  aborigi- 
nal people,  among  which  were  many  massiv-  tablets 
of  stone  covered  with  columns  of  strange  hieroglyph- 
ics and  antique  images,  picturing  a  past  civilization  for 

*  The  Hebrew  for  man  is  derived  from  the  verb  (mx),  to  be  red. 

I 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


the  rise  am;  growth  of  which  modern  archaeologists 
have  not  yet  satisfactorily  determined  dates. 

In  the  early  ages  of  the  world  the  Egyptians  re- 
corded whatever  they  deemed  important  and  worthy 
of  preservation  concerning  the  principal  inhabitants 
of  the  globe.  These  inquisitive  chroniclers  of  antedilu- 
vian traditions  placed  in  their  archives  some  remark- 
able information  respecting  the  original  people  of  the 
western  hemisphere.  The  historical  value  of  this  in- 
formation is  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  those  parts  of  it 
which  beem  to  be  the  most  improbable  are  supported 
by  similar  statements  in  the  Bible,  while  the  less  as- 
tounding are  verified  by  the  discovery,  on  the  conti- 
nent of  the  so-called  New  World,  of  such  remains  as 
those  which  are  said  to  have  existed  in  the  country  west 
of  the  entrance  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

About  five  hundred  and  seventy  years  before  the 
Christian  era,  Solon,  the  celebrated  legislator  of  Greece, 
visited  Egypt,  and  while  there  became  acquainted  with 
some  of  the  erudite  priests  of  the  country.^  When  the 
latter  communicated  to  him  what  they  had  learned 
from  the  records  concerning  the  ancient  peoples  of 
the  earth,  the  sage  of  Greece  was  so  deeply  impressed 
with  the  unquestionable  value  of  this  strange  informa- 

*  Solon,  one  of  the  seven  sages  of  Greece,  was  born  about  the  years,  c.  639, 
and  died  about  'he  year  B.  c.  558. 

Herodotus,  the  Greek  historian,  writing  in  the  fifth  century  before  the  Chris- 
tian era,  says  •  "  When  these  were  subdued,  and  Croesus  had  joined  them  to  the 
Lydians,  all  the  learned  men  at  that  time,  especially  those  of  Greece,  resorted  to 
Sardis,  which  had  then  reached  a  high  degree  of  eminence.  Among  them  was 
Solon,  an  Athenian,  who,  having  made  a  code  of  laws  for  the  Athenians  at 
their  request,  absented  himself  for  ten  years,  having  sailed  away  under  pretense 
of  seeing  the  worF,  that  he  might  not  be  compelled  to  abrogate  any  of  the  laws 
he  had  established :  for  the  Athenians  could  not  do  it  themselves,  as  they 
were  bound  by  the  most  solemn  oaths  to  preserve  inviolate,  for  ten  years,  the 
institutions  of  Solon.  Therefore,  having  gone  abroad  for  these  reasons,  as  well 
as  to  see  the  world,  Solon  had  visited  Amasis,  in  Egypt,  and  w^^nt  from 
there  to  CrtBsus,  at  Saidis." — Herodotus  :   Clio  xxix,  xxx. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


tion  that  he  committed  it  to  writing,  intending  to  use 
it  in  an  historical  poem  which  he  had  undertaken  to 
compose.'  On  his  return  to  Athens  he  was  not  per- 
mitted the  leisure  that  was  needed  to  complete  his 
agreeable  task.'  After  his  death,  the  compilations  he 
had  made  in  Egypt  were,  for  a  long  time,  preserved  by 
his  descendants,  and  at  last  became  the  property  of 
Plato,  the  Greek  philosopher.^  The  latter,  when  a 
boy,  had  studiously  perused  his  eminent  ancestor's 
lanuscript,  and  when  he  had  reached  the  last  years 
of  his  scholarly  life  he  could  not  disengage  his 
thoughts  from  the  conviction  that  it  was  his  personal 
duty  to  publish  its  rare  information.*  In  order,  there- 
fore, to  give  publicity  to  Solon's  valuable  compilations, 
Plato,  a  short  time  before  his  own  death,  wrote  that 
part  of  the  unfinished  dialogue  entitled  "Critias,  or  the 
Atlantic,"  in  which  appears  the  earliest  known  account 
of  the  ancient  people  of  the  western  hemisphere.* 

"  When  Solon  interrogated  the  priests,  who  were 
the  most  distinguished* for  their  antiquarian  knowledge, 
he  became  aware  that  neither  he  nor  any  of  the 
Greeks  knew  much  concerning  the  history  of  the  first 
ages  of  the  world.     On  one  occasion,  for  the  purpose 

'Plutarch,  the  Greek  biographer,  says  that  Psenophis,  the  Heliopolitan,  and 
Senchis,  the  Saite,  the  most  learned  of  the  Egyptian  priests,  were  the  persons 
who  gave  Solon  this  information. — Parallel  Lives  :  Solon. 

'"If  Solon  *  *  *  had  not  considered  the  writing  of  poetry  a  recreation, 
but  had  made  it,  as  others  do,  an  actual  employment,  and  had  completed  the 
history  which  he  had  brought  from  Egypt ;  and  had  not  been  forced  to  relin- 
quish it  by  seditions  and  many  other  troubles  in  which  he  found  his  country 
involved,  I  do  not  think  that  either  Hesiod,  Homer,  or  any  other  poet  would 
have  acquired  more  extensive  fame." — Plato  :  Timaeus,  or  Concerning  Nature. 

*  Plato  was  bom  about  the  year  B.  C.  430  and  died  about  the  year  B.  c.  348. 
He  traced  his  descent  from  Solon  through  his  mother. 

* "  These  very  writings,  indeed,  were  in  the  possession  of  my  grandfather, 
and  are  now  in  mine,  having  been  made  the  subject  of  much  study  during 
my  boyhood." — Plato  :  Critias,  or  the  Atlantic. 

*  Plato :  Critias,  or  the  Atlantic. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


f  ■ 


rr 


of  inducing  the  priests  to  relate  some  of  their  ancient 
traditions  he  began  to  narrate  the  early  history  of  his 
own  country.  *  *  *  Thereupon  one  of  the  eldest 
priests  exclaimed  :  '  Solon,  Solon,  you  Greeks  are  but 
children,  and  an  aged  Greek  there  is  none  ! '  Solon, 
hearing  this,  asked,  '  What  do  you  mean  ?  '  The 
priest  replied :  '  You  are  all  youths  in  intelligence, 
for  you  have  no  old  beliefs  transmitted  by  tradition,  nor 
any  science  hoary  with  age.  *  *  *  From  the  olden 
time  we  have  chronicled  whatever  has  happened  in 
your  country  or  in  ours,  or  in  any  other  region  known 
to  us, — any  action,  noble  or  great  or  in  any  other  way 
remarkable, — and  these  records  are  preserved  in  our 
temples,  whereas  you  and  other  nations  have  but 
lately  been  provided  with  letters  and  different  things 
required  by  states.     *     *     * 

"  '  Many  and  great  exploits  of  your  state,  therefore, 
are  here  recorded,  and  call  forth  our  admiration ;  never- 
theless, thfjre  is  one  in  particular,  which  in  magnitude 
and  heroism  surpasses  them  all.  For  these  records 
relate  that  your  state  once  checked  the  advance  of  a 
mighty  force  which  threatened  all  Europe  and  Asia, 
moving  upon  them  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  For  at 
that  time  this  ocean  was  navigable  ;  and  beyond  the 
strait  [that  of  Gibraltar],  which  you  in  your  language 
call  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  was  an  island  larger  than 
Libya  [Africa]  and  Asia  put  together.'  At  that  time 
sea-faring  men  could  pass  from  it  to  the  other  islands, 
and  from  them  to  the  opposite  continent,  which  ex- 

'  The  so-called  Pillars  of  Hercules  were  the  two  mountains,  Calpc  and  Abyla, 
on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  Strait  of  (xibraltar. 

"  1  wonder,  therefore,  at  those,"  says  Herodotus,  "  who  have  described  the 
limits  of  and  divided  Libya,  Asia,  and  Europe,  for  the  difference  between  them 
is  triflintj  :  for  in  length  Europe  extends  along  both  of  them,  but  respecting 
width,  it  is  evidently  not  to  be  compared.  Libya  shows  itself  to  be  sur- 
rounded by  water,  except  so  much  of  it  as  borders  Asia." — Herodotus :  Mel- 
pomene xlii. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


5 


tended  along  the  real  ocean.  For  the  sea  [the  Medi- 
terranean! inside  the  strait,  which  we  have  already 
mentioned,  is  like  a  bay  with  a  narrow  entrance,  but 
the  other  sea  is  rightly  called  an  ocean,  and  the  land, 
which  entirely  surrounds  it,  may  truly  and  correctly  be 
called  a  continent.  In  this  large  Atlantic  island  a 
mighty  and  wonderful  confederacy  of  kings  was 
formed,  which  subdued  the  whole  island  and  many 
other  islands  and  parts  of  the  continent.  Besides  this 
i«-  extended  its  rule,  on  our  side,  over  Libya  as  far  as 
Egypt,  and  over  Europe  as  far  as  Tyrrhenia.'  At 
that  time  the  united  forces  of  this  power  undertook  to 
crush  at  one  blow  both  your  country  and  ours,  and  all 
the  other  countries  lying  within  the  strait. '  " " 

" '  In  the  beginning  the  gods  divided  the  whole 
earth,  here  and  there,  into  large  and  small  portions,  that 
they  might  obtain  temples  and  sacrifices.  In  this  way 
Poseidon  received  as  his  portion  the  Atlantic  island, 
and.  begat  children  by  a  mortal  woman  (f«  ^vvrrj? 
yvvaiKoi),  and  placed  them  on  a  part  of  the  island 
which  we  are  about  to  describe.'  "  ^ 

Incredible  as  this  information  concerning  the  resi- 
dence of  a  person  possessing  a  divine  nature  on  the 
earth  and  his  matrimonial  relationship  with  a  woman 
seems  to  be.  there  are  some  remarkable  statements 
in  the  traditions  of  the  ancients  respecting  celestial 
beings  dwelling  among  men,  and,  by  marriage  with 
their  daughters,  being  the  progenitors  of  an  illustrious 
offspring.  The  Hebrew  patriarchs,  it  is  said,  had 
personal  communications  with  angels,  at  different  times 
and  places.  It  is  related  that  three,  in  human  form, 
partook  of  food  given  them  by  Abraham,  under  a 

*Tyrrhenia  or  Umbria,  in  Italy,  new  Tuscany. 

*  Plato  :  Timseus,  or  Concerning  Nature. 

*  Plato  :  Critias,  or  the  Atlantic 


l',»  , 


n 


i;- 

^  ... . 

: 

t.. 

' 

R 

Pi 

■ 

Ijj 

1 

i 

6  DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 

tree,  in  the  plain  of  Mamre.*  Herodotus  was  told, 
by  certain  Egyptians,  that  "  gods  had  been  the  rulers 
of  Ii:^gypt  and  had  dwelt  among  men  ;  and  that  one  of 
them  always  had  the  supreme  power." '  Moses,  "  who 
was  instructed  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians," 
describing  the  people  of  the  antediluvian  world,  writes  : 

"  It  happened,  as  men  began  to  multiply  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  and  daughters  were  born  to  them,  the 
sons  of  the  Elohim  (□''n7><n  ^^2)  [literally,  the  sons 
of  the  eminent  or  mighty  ones]  saw  the  daughters  of 
man  (D"l5<n  mj3)  that  they  were  fair  ;  then  they 
took  for  wives  among  them  all  whom  they  loved.  * 
*  *  There  were  giants  (D"'7DJ)  on  the  earth  in 
those  days,  and  also  after  that  the  sons  of  the  Elohim 
went  in  unto  the  daughters  of  man  and  they  bare 
children  to  them,  the  same  became  heroes  (D'^*)!I1)|) 
who  were  of  old,  men  of  name  {U\^  ^^1^)'"  ^ 

"  •  Toward  the  sea,  in  the  middle  of  the  island,  was 
a  plain,'  the  priest  continued,  'which  was  very  at- 
tractive and  fertile.  About  fifty  stadia  from  the  centre 
of  the  plain  was  a  mountain  with  sloping  sides/  On 
this  dwelt  one  of  those  men  begotten  from  the  ground 
in  the  beginning  (Kara  apx^^  ^^  yv^  avdpobv  yeyovoroov), 
Euenor  by  name.s     He    lived   there   with    his   wife, 

'  Genesis  xvi.  7  ;  xviii.  1-8,  16-33  i  '''*•  i-2a ;  xxxii.  i,  2. 

'  Herodotus  :  Euterpe  cxlii,  cxliv. 

'  Genesis  vi.  i,  2,  4. 

"  Soc.     Do  you  Vnow  that  heroes  are  half-gods  ? 

"Herm.     What  then? 

"  Soc.  All  of  them  were  doubtless  begotten  either  from  a  god  falling  in  love 
with  a  mortal  woman,  or  from  a  mortal  man  [falling  in  love]  with  a  goddess." 
— Plato  :  Cratylus,  or  Concerning  the  Correct  Use  of  Words. 

*  A  stadium  is  equal  to  600  Greek  or  625  Roman  feet,  or  to  606  feet  9  inches 
English  measure. 

*  Respecting  the  names  of  the  persons  appearing  in  the  narrative  Plato  ob- 
serves: "  We  must  briefly  warn  you  not  to  be  surprised  at  hearing  Hellenic 
names  given  to  the  jjarbarians  ;  the  cause  of  this  you  shall  now  hear.  Solon, 
intending  to  make  Use  of  this  narrative  in  his  poetry,  made  an  investigation 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


I  inches 


Leucippe.  They  had  an  only  daughter  named  Cleito. 
When  this  girl  reached  womanhood,  her  father  and 
mother  being  dead,  Poseidon  fell  in  love  with  her  and 
made  her  his  wife.  He  encircled  the  hill  on  which  she 
lived  with  alternate  girdles  of  land  and  water,  greater 
and  less,  ma^-ing  two  of  land  and  three  of  water,  each 
uniformly  distant  frotr.  the  centre  of  the  island,  in  order 
to  render  her  habitation  inaccessible  to  men,  for  at  that 
time  ships  and  sea-faring  were  unknown.  Also  by  his 
divine  power  he  beautifully  adorned  the  centre  of  the 
island,  causing  two  fountains  to  shoot  upward  from 
beneath  the  earth,  one  of  cold  and  the  other  of  hot 
water,  and  making  all  kinds  of  food  to  grow  abundantly 
on  the  earth.  He  begat  and  raised  ten  male  children, 
twins,  and  divided  the  Atlantic  island  into  ten  parts. 
He  gave  to  the  first-born  of  the  eldest  twins,  his 
mother's  habitation  and  the  land  surrounding  it,  this 
being  the  largest  and  the  best.  He  appointed  him 
king  over  the  other  children,  making  the  latter  princes, 
and  giving  to  each  the  control  of  many  people  and 
extensive  domains.  He  likewise  gave  names  to  all 
of  his  offspring ;  to  the  eldest,  the  king,  the  name  of 
Atlas,  in  honor  of  whom  both  the  island  and  the  ocean 
were  called  Atlantic'  To  the  twin  born  after  him 
(who  received  for  his  portion  the  extreme  part  of  the 
island  toward  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  as  far  as  the 
region  now  called  in  that  country  Gadeirica),  he  gave 
the  appellation,  which  v/e  Greeks  call  Eumelus,  but  the 
people  of  that  country  Gadeira.'     He  called  the  first  of 

\nto  the  signification  of  the  names,  and  found  that  the  early  Egyptians  who  re- 
corded these  facts  transferred  these  names  into  their  own  language  ;  and  he 
again  receiving  the  meaning  of  each  name  transcribed  it  into  our  tongue." 

' "  Ilacfa  rf  vijaot  rots  itiXayo?  iox^y  inoovvjjiiav,  ^ArXav- 
riKov  Xex^^y" 

'  Gadeira,  an  ancient  city  built,  it  is  said,  by  the  Phoenicians,  fifteen  cen- 
turies before  the  Christian  era,  on  the  site  of  Cadiz,  Spain. 


Ml 


8 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


the  second-born  twins,  Ampheres,  the  second  Eudae- 
mon ;  of  the  third  pair,  he  called  the  first-born  Mnesis, 
and  the  second,  Autochthon ;  of  the  fourth  pair,  the 
first  Elasippus,  and  the  younger  Mestor ;  and  of  the 
fifth  pair,  to  the  first  was  given  the  name  of  Azae^s,  and 
to  the  last,  Diaprepes. 

"  '  For  many  generations  these  and  their  descendants 
were  the  rulers  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands  in 
the  ocean,  and,  as  it  has  been  said,  they  extended  their 
authority  over  all  the  country  as  far  as  Egypt  and  Tyr- 
rhenia.  By  far  the  most  distinguished  was  the  race  of 
Atlas  ;  and  the  eldest  king  belonging  to  it  always 
handed  down  in  succession  the  government  to  his 
eldest  son.  All  thes6  kings  in  turn  possessed  immense 
wealth,  such  as  was  never  known  to  belong  to  royalty 
or  will  be  likely  hereafter  They  were  provided  with 
all  things  which,  in  a  city  or  elsewhere,  are  worth 
having.  Large  revenues  were  received  by  them  from 
foreign  countries  under  their  rule,  but  the  greatest  re- 
sources came  from  the  island.  First  were  such  ores  as 
are  dug  in  mines  in  a  crude  condition,  or  need  to  be 
smelted,  particularly  the  metal  orichalctim,^  which  is 
now  known  only  by  name,  but  formerly  was  of  great 
value.  This  was  dug  from  the  earth  in  many  parts  of 
the  island,  being  prized  above  all  the  metals  then 
known,  except  gold.  The  island  also  produced  an 
abundance  of  wood  for  building  purposes,  and  fur- 
nished food  for  wild  and  tame  animals.  Vast  numbers 
of  elephants  were  on  the  island,  for  there  was  abundant 
subsistence  for  all  animals  which  feed  in  marshes  and 
along  lakes,  on  mountains  and  plains,  and  likewise  for 
this  animal,  which  by  nature  is  the  largest  and  most 

'  OpeixocXxoif  ore  of  copper.  From  opetoSf  mountain,  and  ;|;aAxo?, 
brass. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


voracious  of  all.'  And  whatever  fragrant  plants  the 
earth  produces,  whether  roots,  or  grasses,  or  woods,  or 
exuding  gums,  or  flowers,  or  fruits,  grew  there  and 
were  developed  to  perfection.  The  island  besides  pro- 
duced such  cultivated  fruits  and  dry  edible  fruits  as  we 
use  for  food  and  call  vegetables ;  also  the  fruits  which 
trees  bear  and  are  used  for  drinks,  meats,  and  oint- 
ments ;  and  those  also  which  have  a  hard  shell,  used 
in  sport  and  pleasure,  that  are  collected  with  trouble, 
together  with  dainty  fruits  for  dessert,  which  provoke 
the  appetite  or  please  the  sick ; — all  these  that  once- 
existing  and  tropic  island,  sacred  and  delightful,  pro- 
duced in  surprising  and  infinite  quantities.  Obtaining 
all  these  from  the  soil,  the  inhabitants  employed  them- 
selves in  building  temples,  royal  palaces,  harbors,  and 
wharves  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  constructing  them 
as  follows : 

.  "  '  First  of  all,  the  people  residing  in  and  about  that 
ancient  metropolis  bridged  over  those  girdles  of  water, 
making  a  causeway  to  and  from  the  royal  palace.  In 
this  place,  which  had  been  the  residence  of  the  gods 
and  their  ancestors,  they,  at  the  beginning,  erected  the 
palace  ;  and  each  [king]  in  turn,  receiving  it  from  his 
predecessor,  and  further  embellishing  the  ornamental 
parts,  continually  surpassed  the  one  before  him,  until 
they  made  the  building  very  attractive  to  the  sight,  on 
account  of  its  size  and  the  beauty  of  its  elaborations. 
They  dug  a  canal,  beginning  at  the  sea,  three  plethra' 
broad,  a  hundred  feet  deep,  and  fifty  stadia  in  length, 
to  the  outermost  girdle,  and  thus  made  a  channel  to  it 
from  the  sea  as  into  a  harbor,  by  enlarging  its  mouth 
sufficiently  to  admit  the  largest  vessels.     Besides  this, 

'  The  remains  of  mammoths  or  elephants,  elephas primigenus,  have  been  ex- 
humtd  in  different  parts  ot  the  continent  of  An.  'ica. 
*  A  plethron  is  equal  to  a  hundred  feet. 


lO 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


they  separated  by  aqueducts  the  girdles  of  land  which 
separated  those  of  water,  so  that  a  trireme '  could  be 
taken  from  one  girdle  of  water  to  another,  arching  the 
girdles  of  land  to  allow  a  water- way  beneath  them  ;  for 
the  banks  of  the  girdles  of  land  rose  to  a  height  con- 
siderably above  the  water.  And  the  greatest  of  these 
girdles  into  which  the  sea  flowed  was  three  stadia  in 
width,  and  the  girdle  of  land  next  to  it  was  of  the  same 
width.  The  second  girdle  of  water  was  two  stadia  in 
width  and  the  second  girdle  of  land  the  same.  The 
last  girdle  of  water,  environing  the  centre  of  the  isl- 
and, was  only  one  stadium  wide,  and  the  island,  on 
which  the  king's  palace  stood,  had  a  diameter  of 
five  stadia.  This  island,  as  well  as  the  girdles  of 
land,  and  the  bridge  (which  was  a  plethron  in  width), 
they  inclosed  on  the  sides  with  stone  walls, 'erecting 
towers  and  gates  at  intervals  on  the  aqueducts  where 
the  water  passed  through  [the  girdles  of  land].  The 
stone  for  the  walls  they  quarried  within  the  limits  of 
the  island,  both  in  the  centre,  and  inside  and  outside 
the  girdles  ;  one  kind  of  it  was  white,  a  second  black, 
a  third  red  ;  and  by  thus  quarrying  they  made  at  the 
same  time  openings  which  served  for  two  docks,  having 
likewise  a  covering  of  rock.  Of  the  buildings,  some 
were  of  plain  structure,  while  others  they  built  of  a 
composite  style  of  architecture,  using  the  different 
kinds  of  stone  as  pleased  them  most,  thus  realizing  a 
pleasure  becoming  their  natures.  And  they  covered 
the  whole  circuit  of  the  wall  round  the  extreme  outer 
girdle  with  bronze,  applying  it  as  they  would  plaster. 
The  next  wall  inside  of  it  they  covered  with  melted  tin, 
and  the  wall  round  the  citadel  with  orichalcum  that  has 
a  fiery  resplendence. 


A  trireme,  a  large-sized  boat  with  three  rows  or  benches  of  oars  on  its 


sides. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


II 


i«  < 


Further,  the  royal  palace  within  the  citadel  was 
constructed  in  the  following  manner  :  In  the  centre 
of  it  a  temple  was  erected,  difficult  of  access,  sacred 
to  Cleito  and  Poseidon,  surrounded  by  an  inclosure  of 
gold  ;  for  on  this  spot  they  begat  and  raised  the  race 
of  the  ten  kings,  and  where  also  their  descendants, 
making  annual  collections  from  all  the  ten  allotments, 
offered  seasonable  sacrifices  to  each  one. 

"  '  The  temple  of  Poseidon  wa^  a  stadium  in  length, 
three  plethra  in  breadth,  and  of  a  proportionate  height, 
having  a  somewhat  barbaric  appearance.  All  the  out- 
side of  the  temple,  except  the  pinnacles,  they  lined 
with  silver,  but  the  pinnacles  they  covered  with  gold. 
Respecting  the  interior,  the  ceiling  was  wholly  of  ivory, 
varegated  with  gold  and  orichalcum,  and  all  the  other 
parts,  the  walls,  the  pillars,  and  the  pavements,  they 
covered  with  orichaUum.  They  also  placed  in  the 
temple  golden  statues.  The  one  of  the  god  stood  in  a 
chariot  driving  with  reins  six- winged  horses.  It  was 
of  such  size  that  the  head  o!  the  god  touched  the 
ceiling,  and  surrounding  the  statue  were  a  hundred 
nereids  on  dolphins  ;  for  the  people  of  that  day  thought 
that  this  was  their  number.  The  temple  also  contained 
many  other  statues  d2dicated  to  private  persons.  On 
the  outside  of  the  temple  golden  images  were  also 
placed  of  all  the  men  and  women  that  were  descended 
from  the  ten  kings,  and  many  other  large  statues,  both 
of  kings  and  of  private  people,  both  from  the  metropolis 
and  from  the  foreign  countries  over  which  the  kings 
had  dominion.  There  was  also  an  altar,  in  size  and 
elaboration  corresponding  to  these  ornaments  ;  and 
there  were  palaces  also  whose  grandeur  was  in 
keeping  with  the  greatness  of  the  empire  and  also 
with  the  splendor  of  the  temple. 


ta 


DISCO\  ERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


"  '  They  had  fountains  from  cold  and  hot  springs  of 
which  there  were  many,  the  water  being  suited  in 
every  way  to  their  use  on  account  of  its  sweetness  and 
purity.  Around  these  springs  they  made  their  resi- 
dences and  well-watered  plantations,  together  with 
their  reservoirs,  some  open  to  the  heavens,  but  the 
others,  for  use  in  winter,  roofed  over  for  warm  baths. 
The  kings'  bathing-houses  and  those  of  private  per- 
sons were  separated,  as  we'l  as  those  of  the  women. 
There  were  others  for  horsss  and  other  draught  cattle, 
each  provided  with  the  requisite  means  of  cleanliness. 
The  stream  flowing  from  these  they  conducted  to  the 
grove  of  Poseidon,  where  there  were  all  kinds  of  trees 
reaching  a  wonderful  height  on  account  of  the  fertility 
of  the  soil,  and  then  led  it  away  by  aqueducts  to  the 
outer  girdles  of  water.  There  they  also  erected  a 
large  number  of  temples,  dedicated  to  many  different 
gods,  and  many  gardens  and  gymnasia,  one  for  men, 
and  others  separately  for  horses,  on  the  two  girdles  of 
land.  To  test  the  speed  of  the  horses  there  was  a 
race-course  in  the  middle  of  the  largest  girdle  of  land, 
a  stadium  in  width,  that  extended  around  its  entire  cir- 
cumfej  ence.  Around  it  on  all  sides  were  barracks  for 
the  household  troops,  corresponding  to  their  number. 
To  the  more  faithful  of  these  troops  quarters  were 
assigned  on  the  smaller  girdle  of  land  closer  to  the 
citadel,  while  those  who  excelled  all  the  others  in  loy- 
alty had  quarters  given  them  within  the  cit.  del,  near 
the  residences  of  the  kings.  The  docks  were  filled 
with  triremes  and  the  equipments  for  trireme'  ;  and 
the  triremes  were  all  adequately  provided  with  them. 
These  were  the  arrangements  for  the  protection  of  the 
palace  of  the  kings.  On  crossing  the  three  outer  har- 
bors one  found  a  wall  which  extended  entirely  around 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


13 


the  island,  beginninj;^  at  the  sea,  everywhere  fifty 
stadia  distant  from  the  greatest  girdle  and  harbor,  and 
inclosed  the  entrance  to  the  canal  and  the  entrance  to 
the  sea.  The  whole  of  this  part  of  the  girdle  of  Imd 
was  covered  with  many  and  densely -built  dwellings. 
The  canal  and  the  largest  harbor  were  filled  with 
vessels  and  traders,  coming  from  all  parts,  and  these, 
on  account  of  their  number,  made  a  babel  of  voices,  a 
commotion,  and  a  din  all  through  the  day  and  the 
night. 

"  •  We  have  now  related  from  memory  a  description 
of  the  city  and  its  ancient  habitations ;  now  we  must 
attempt  to  describe  the  nature  of  the  other  parts  of 
the  country  and  the  employment  of  the  people.  First, 
then,  the  whole  region  was  said  to  be  exceedingly 
h'gh  and  precipitous  toward  the  sea,  and  the  plain, 
encircling  the  city,  surrounded  by  mountains  sloping 
down  to  the  sea,  being  level  and  smooth,  extended 
in  one  direction  three  thousand  stadia,  and  the  central 
part,  from  the  sea,  more  than  two  thousand  stadia. 
And  this  part  of  the  island  extended  toward  the  south, 
in  an  opposite  direction  from  the  north.  The  moun- 
tains around  it  were,  a^  that  time,  also  celebrated, 
exceeding  in  number,  size,  and  attractiveness  all  those 
of  the  present  day  ;  having  on  them  many  hamlets 
together  with  villages,  as  well  as  rivers,  lakes,  and 
marshes,  furnishing  ample  supplies  of  food  for  all  catde, 
both  tame  and  wild ;  with  timber  of  different  kinds  and 
in  great  quantity  for  every  special  purpose.  The  plain, 
by  nature,  being  as  described,  was  improved  in  the 
following  way  by  many  kings  through  a  long  course  of 
time  :  It  was  almost  square  in  extent,  generally 
straight  and  oblong,  and  where  it  terminated  they 
bounded  it  by  digging  a  canal  around  it.     Concerning 


14 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


the  depth,  breadth,  and  length  of  which  for  a  public 
work,  besides  other  concomitant  undertakings,  we  can 
scarcely  believe  what  was  said,  still  we  must  tell  what 
we  learned.  The  canal  was  excavated  to  the  depth  of 
a  plethrum,  and  the  breadth  was  a  ctadium  in  every 
part,  the  entire  excavation  round  t'  ^.  plain  being  ten 
thousand  stadia  in  length.  This  canal,  receiving  the 
water  of  the  streams  coming  from  the  mountains,  con- 
ducted it  all  around  the  plain  and  near  to  the  city,  and 
finally  to  the  sea.  From  above,  likewise,  straight 
canals  were  cut  about  a  hundred  feet  broad  along  the 
plain,  back  into  the  canal  near  the  sea;  distant  from 
one  another  about  one  hundred  stadia ;  and  it  was  by 
these  canals  that  timber  from  the  mountains  was 
brought  to  the  city,  and  on  which  the  rest  of  the 
shipping  trade  was  done ;  transverse  canals  of  com- 
munication being  cut  into  the  others  and  toward  the 
city.  Their  harvest  they  gathered  twice  in  a  year ;  in 
winter  availing  themselves  of  the  rains,  and  in  summer 
irrigating  the  land  from  the  canals. 

"  '  It  was  ordered  for  the  men  on  the  plain  fit  for  mil- 
itary service  that  each  individual  leader  should  have  an 
allotment  of  land ;  each  allotment  amounting  in  extent 
to  a  hundred  stadia  ;  the  whole  number  of  allotments 
being  sixty  thousand.  It  is  said  that  many  men  from 
the  mountains  and  other  parts  of  the  country  were 
assigned,  according  to  their  dwellings  and  villages,  cer- 
tain tracts  by  their  respective  leaders.  Each  leader 
was  required  to  furnish  for  war  the  sixth  part  of  a 
war-chariot  (to  make  the  number  often  thousand),  two 
riding  horses,  and  a  two-horse  chariot  without  a 
driver's  seat,  having  a  mouiited  charioteer  to  guide 
the  horses,  with  another  rider  to  dismount  and  fight  at 
the  side  of  them ;   also  two  heavy-armed  men,  two 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


15 


archers,  two  slingers,  three  light-armed  soldiers,  the 
same  number  of  stone-shooters  and  javelin-men,  be- 
sides four  seamen  to  make  up  the  crews  of  one  thou- 
sand two  hundred  vessels.  Thus  were  the  military 
affairs  of  this  city  arranged.  Respecting  those  of  the 
nine  other  allotments,  there  were  different  regulations, 
which  it  would  be  too  tedious  to  narrate. 

"  '  The  following  were  the  systems  of  official  ser- 
vices and  honors  :  Each  of  the  ten  kings  ruled  su- 
preme over  the  people  and  the  laws  in  his  own  allot- 
ment and  over  his  own  city,  constraining  and  punishing 
whom  he  pleased.'  As  the  law  was  handed  down  to 
them,  the  government  and  commonwealth  in  each 
allotment  were  regulated  by  the  injunctions  of  Posei- 
don. Inscriptions  [of  this  law]  were  made  by  the  first 
[kings]  on  a  column  of  orichalcum,  which  was  placed 
in  the  centre  of  the  island,  in  the  temple  of  Poseidon, 
where  the  kings  consulted  together  every  fifth  year, 
(which  they  afterward  changed  to  every  sixth  year,) 
each  king  representing  at  these  meetings  the  entire 
kingdom  and  its  subdivisions.  The  kings,  when  they 
were  assembled,  deliberated  on  matters  respecting  the 
common  weal,  and  inquired  what  transgressions  each 
had  committed,  and  each  respectively  rendered  his 
decision.     Before  they  sat  in  judgment  they  gave  one 

'  "  This  agreement  of  the  traditions  of  the  most  diverse  peoples  manifests 
itself  in  u.  striking  manner  when  compared  with  the  number  assigned  by  the 
Bible  to  the  antediluvian  patriarchs.  There  are  ten  in  the  account  in  Genesis, 
and  a  singular  persistence  reproduces  this  number  of  ten  in  the  legends  of  a  very 
great  number  of  nations,  whose  primitive  ancestors  are  still  enveloped  in  the 
mist  of  fables.  *  «  *  The  preserved  fragments  of  the  celebrated  historical 
papyrus  of  Turin,  containing  a  list  of  Egyptian  dynasties  traced  in  hieratic 
writing,  seem  clearly  to  indicate  that  the  editor  of  this  canon  gives  t  -n  gods,  who 
in  the  beginning  ruled  men." — Les  Origires  de  1'  Histoire  d'  apris  la  Bible  et 
les  Traditions  des  Peuples  Orientaux,  par  Fran9ois  Lenormant,  professeur  d' 
archeolo(;ib  pr^s  la  Bibliotb^que  nationale.  Deuxi^me  Edition,  Paris,  'iSAQ. 
pp.  214,  215,  227. 


i6 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


I 


another  pledges,  according  to  the  following  custom : 
The  ten,  when  they  were  assembled  in  the  temple, 
after  invoking  the  god  to  receive  their  sacrifice  propi- 
tiously, went  swordless,  with  staves  and  nooses,  among 
the  bulls  grazing  within  the  temple  inclosure,  and  the 
bull  they  took  they  brought  to  the  column  and  slaugh- 
tered it,  the  head  of  the  bull  bemg  under  the  inscrip- 
tions. Besides  the  laws  on  the  column,  there  was  a 
malediction  written  containing  denunciations  of  evil  on 
the  disobedient.  When,  therefore,  in  compliance  with 
their  laws,  they  sacrificed  and  burned  all  the  limbs  of 
the  bull,  they  filled  a  goblet  with  the  blood  of  the 
animal,  and  threw  the  remainder  into  the  fire,  in  order 
to  purify  the  column.  Afterward  dipping  from  the 
goblet  with  golden  cups,  they  poured  libations  of 
blood  on  the  fire,  and  swore  to  do  justice  according  to 
the  laws  on  the  column,  to  punish  any  one  who  had 
previously  transgresi,ed  them,  besides  swearing  that 
they  themselves  would  never  afterward  willingly  trans- 
gress the  inscribed  laws,  or  rule  or  obey  any  ruler 
governing  otherwise  than  according  to  his  father's  laws. 
Then  after  invoking  these  denunciations  on  themselves 
and  their  descendants,  and  after  drinking  from  the  cup 
and  depositing  it  in  the  temple  of  the  god,  and  sitting 
the  necessary  time  at  supper,  they,  as  soon  as  it  was 
dark  and  the  fire  of  the  sacrifice  had  ceased  to  burn, 
dressed  themselves  in  beautiful  dark-blue  robes,  and 
sat  down  on  the  ground,  near  the  embers  of  the  sac- 
rifice, over  which  they  had  sworn.  All  the  fire  in  the 
temple  having  been  extinguished  for  the  night,  they 
then  mutually  judged  one  another  respecting  any  accu- 
sation of  transgressing  the  laws.  After  their  acts  of 
judgment  were  ended,  and  daylight  had  come,  they 
inscribed  their  decisions  on  a  golden  tablet  and  depos- 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


17 


ited  it  and  their  dresses  in  the  temple  as  memorials. 
There  were  also  many  other  special  laws  respecting 
the  privileges  of  the  kings.  The  principal  ones  were 
that  they  should  never  wage  war  upon  one  another, 
that  all  should  lend  their  aid  when  any  attempt  was 
made  in  their  cities  to  destroy  the  royal  race,  that  they 
should  consult  together  as  their  ancestors  had  done  re- 
specting the  right  course  to  be  pursued  in  war  and  in 
other  matters,  and  that  they  should  allot  the  govern- 
ment of  the  empire  to  the  Atlantic  race.  They  did 
not  allow  the  king,  however,  any  authority  to  put  to 
death  any  of  his  kinsmen,  unless  the  execution  was 
approved  by  more  than  five  of  the  ten.'  "' 

The  priest  also  related  that  it  was  "  about  nine 
'  housand  years  ago  that  war  was  proclaimed  between 
those  dwellin,^  outside  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  and  all 
those  within  them."'  Athens  "  was  the  leader  of  the 
latter  people  and  directed  the  operations  of  the  war, 
and  the  kings  of  the  Atlantic  island  were  the  com- 
manders of  the  forces  of  the  former."^ 

"  '  But  in  a  later  age,'  said  the  priest,  'by  extraordi- 
nary earthquakes  and  deluges,  bringing  destruction  in 
a  single  day  and  night,  the  whole  of  your  formidable 
race  was  at  once  sunk  under  the  earth,  and  the 
Atlantic  island  in  like  manner  plunged  beneath  the  sea 
and  concealed  from  view;  therefore  that  sea  is,  at 
present,  neither  passable  nor  to  be  traced  out,  being 

'  Plato  :  Critias,  or  the  Atlantic. 

'"  These  figures  of  the  mythic  Egyptian  chronology  are  still  very  imper- 
fectly known  to  us — too  little  indeed  to  afRrm  any  thing  satisfactorily  concern- 
ing the  principle  of  their  construction.  ♦  #  *  We  must,  therefore,  wait  for 
some  n  '  discovery,  like  that  of  a  royal  canon  similar  to  the  one  of  Turin,  in 
good  condition,  before  we  can  make  a  thorough  examination  of  the  principle 
of  the  cyclic  periods  with  which  Egypt  began  her  annals." — Les  Origines  de 
r  Histoire.     Lenormant.    p.  287. 

'  Plato  :  Critias,  or  the  Atlantic. 


i8 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


I"  _ 
i> 


'  \    I 


! 
r 


blocked  up  with  a  great  depth  of  mud  made  by  the 
sunken  island.' "  ^ 

The  history  of  the  Atlantic  people  as  it  was  known 
to  the  ancient  Egyptians  ends  with  this  catastrophe. 
The  inference  of  the  priest  that  the  mud  of  the  sub- 
merged island  made  the  Atlantic  impassable  is  seem- 
ingly an  assertion  without  any  basis  of  fact.  Had  he 
said  that  the  submergence  of  some  of  the  islands  west 
of  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  obliterated  the  marked  sea- 
path  between  the  continents  of  the  two  hemispheres, 
this  statement  would  have  strictly  accorded  with  what 
he  had  said  before,  that  "  sea-faring  men,  at  that  time, 
could  pass  from  it  [the  Atlantic  island]  to  the  other 
islands,  and  from  them  to  the  opposite  continent."' 
The  disappearance  of  the  islands,  in  sight  of  which  ,='  a- 
men  had  steered  their  galleys,  at  once  isolated  the 
peoples  of  the  two  hemispheres.  Thus  it  happened, 
in   the   course   of   centuries,   that  the   aborigines   of 

'  Plato  :  Timseus,  or  Concerning  Nature. 

"  The  ships  of  the  ancients,  in  the  time  of  Herodotus,  were  vessels  propelled 
by  oars  and  sails.  Describing  those  used  by  the  Egyptians  on  the  Nile,  he 
says:  "Their  ships  in  which  they  convey  merchandise  are  made  of  the 
acacia,  which  in  shape  is  similar  to  the  Cyrenaean  lotus,  and  its  exudation  is 
gum.  From  this  acacia  they  cut  planks  about  two  cubits  in  length,  and  join 
them  together  as  they  do  bricks,  building  their  ships  in  the  following  manner  : 
They  fasten  the  planks  of  two  cubits  length  to  stout  and  long  ties ;  when 
they  have  thus  built  the  hulls,  they  lay  rowing  benches  across  them.  They  make 
no  use  of  ribs,  but  caulk  the  seams  inside  with  byblus.  They  make  only  one 
rudder,  and  that  is  driven  through  the  keel.  They  use  a  mast  of  acacia,  and 
sails  of  byblus.  These  vessels  cannot  sail  against  the  current  of  the  stream 
unless  a  fair  wind  prevails,  but  are  towed  from  the  shore.  They  are  thus  carried 
down  the  stream  :  There  is  a  hurdle  made  of  tamarisk,  wattled  with  a  band  of 
reeds,  and  a  stone  bored  through  the  middle,  of  aLout  two  talents  in  weight ; 
of  these  two,  the  hurdle  is  fastened  to  a  cable,  and  let  down  at  the  prow  of  the 
vessel  to  be  carried  on  oy  the  stream  ;  and  the  stone  by  another  cable  at  the 
stern ;  and  by  this  means  the  hurdle,  by  the  stream  bearing  hard  upon  it,  moves 
quickly  £>nd  draws  along  the  'baris',  (for  this  is  the  name  given  to  these  vessels,) 
but  the  stone,  being  dragged  at  the  stern,  and  sunk  to  the  bottom,  keeps  the 
vessel  in  its  course.  They  have  a  great  number  of  these  vessels,  and  Fom.-  of 
theia  carry  many  thousand  talents." — Euterpe  xcvi. 

The  vessels  of  the  Phoenicians  were  of  a  better  build,  but  they  also  were 
fitted  out  with  oirs  and  sails. — Ezekiel  xxvii.  3-q. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


19 


America  passed  out  of  the  recollection  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  so-called  Old  Worid  as  an  early-known 
people. 

The  writer  of  the  first  book  of  the  Bible  relates 
that  when  "  Yahveh  saw  the  wickedness  of  man  was 
great  upon  the  earth  and  every  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  his  heart  only  evil  continually,  *  *  * 
it  repented  him  of  having  made  man  on  the  earth, 
and  he  was  grieved  in  his  heart.  And  Yahveh  said, 
'  I  will  exterminate  man  v/hom  I  have  created  from 
the  surface  of  the  ground.'  "'  The  information  con- 
tained in  these  words  of  the  learned  Hebrew  so  closely 
correspond  to  that  imparted  to  Solon  by  the  Egyptian 
priest  concerning  the  subsequent  degeneracy  of  the 
primitive  people  of  the  earth,  that  it  would  seem  as 
if  it  had  been  derived  from  the  same  source.  "  '  For 
many  generation::*,'  said  the  priest,  '  so  long  as  the 
god-nature  continued  in  them,  they  remained  obedient 
to  the  laws  and  were  happily  influenced  by  it.  But 
when  the  divine  nature  became  extinct  by  the  domi- 
nance and  constant  ascendency  of  the  human,  and  the 
habits  of  men  overpowered  them,  *  *  *  ^j^gy  ^jg. 
ported  themselves  in  an  unbecoming  way.  *  *  * 
Therefore,  Zeus,  the  god  of  gods,  who  rules  justly 
and  searches  out  such  things,  perceiving  an  illustrious 
people  miserably  depraved,  and  intending  to  inflict 
punishment  on  them  that  they  might  become  better 
fitted  to  command  their  appetites  and  passions,  col- 
lected all  the  gods  into  their  own  most  holy  habitation, 
which,  being  in  the  centre  of  the  universe,  commands 
a  view  of  all  things  having  a  part  in  generation  ;  and 
having  assembled  them,  he  said 


4! 


'Genesis  vi.  5,  6,  7. 
•  Plato  :    Critias,  or  the  Atlantic. 
Vide  The  Works  of  Plato.      Bohn's  ed. 
lated  by  Henry  Davis,     pp.  413-429. 


London,  1849.    vol.  ii.    Trans- 


>v 


,ip'*^' 


20 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


An  inscription  on  the  interior  walls  of  the  tomb  of 
Seti  I.  of  Egypt  contains  a  statement  concerning  a 
council  of  the  gods  held  to  consider  what  punishment 
should  be  visited  upon  the  depraved  descendants  of 
the  god  R^,  which  is  similar  to  the  declaration  of  the 
last  clause  of  Plato's  unfinished  dialogue.'  Lenormant, 
commenting  upon  the  information  contained  in  the 
inscription,  remarks : 

"  The  Egyptians  admitted  a  destruction  of  the  primi- 
tive men  by  the  gods  on  account  of  their  rebellion  and 
sins.  This  event  was  recorded  in  a  chapter  of  the  sacred 
books  of  Tahout, — certain  hermetic  books  of  the  Egyp- 
tian priesthood, — that  had  been  graven  on  the  walls  of 
one  of  the  most  isolated  rooms  of  the  burial  crypts  of 
King  Seti  I.,  at  Thebes.  The  text  of  it  has  been  pub- 
lished and  translated  by  Edward  Naville.' 

"  The  scene  L  placed  at  the  end  of  the  reign  of  the 
god  Ra.  *  *  *  Incensed  by  the  wickedness  and 
the  crimes  of  the  men  whom  he  had  begotten,  the  god 
summons  the  other  gods  to  consult  with  them  in  the 
utmost  secrecy,  '  in  order  that  mankind  might  not 
know  it,  and  that  their  hearts  might  not  be  dismayed.' 

"  Said  Rk  to  Noun  :  '  Thou,  the  eldest  of  the  gods, 
of  whom  I  am  sprung,  and  you,  ancient  gods,  behold 
the  men  who  have  been  begotten  by  me.  They  speak 
words  against  me.  Tell  me  what  you  would  do  in  this 
crisis.  Behold,  I  have  waited,  and  I  have  not  destroyed 
them  before  having  heard  your  counsel.'  "  ^ 

Singular  as  the  fact  may  seem,  the  state,  polity, 
and  genius  of  the  people  of  the  western  hemisphere 

'  The  date  of  the  accession  of  Seti  I.  or  Sethos  I.  is  variously  given.  M. 
Champollion  Figeac  places  it  in  1473  B.C.  Mure  thinks  it  cannot  be  er.rlier 
than  1410  nor  later  than  1400  B.C. 

*  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archajology.  t.  iv.  pp.  1-19. 

*  Les  Origines  de  1'  Histoire.    Lenormant.    pp.  448,  440, 


4 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


21 


described  in  the  records  of  Egypt  reappear  in  the 
strange  features  of  the  civilization  of  Mexico,  and  in  the 
vestiges  of  its  aborigines,  which  amazed  the  Spaniards 
who  accompanied  Hernando  Cortes  into  the  interior 
of  the  country,  in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. The  remarkable  accounts  given  by  Bernal  Diaz 
and  other  contemporary  writers  respecting  the  people, 
the  kings,  the  cities,  the  palaces,  the  temples,  and  the 
public  works  seen  by  the  Spanish  invaders,  verify,  in 
many  ways,  the  declarations  of  the  Egyptian  priests 
concerning  the  Atlantic  race.' 

For  centuries  after  the  disappearance  of  the  islands 
lying  in  the  ocean  west  of  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  the 
wide  expanse  of  water,  dashing  its  foaming  surges  on 
the  shores  of  the  continents  of  the  two  hemispheres, 
was  not  only  unexplored  but  was  deemed  imp?3sable. 
Superstition  filled  its  misty  distances  with  frightful 
chimeras  and  geographical  absurdities.  About  the 
beginning  of  the  Middle  Ages  the  vikings  of  Northern 
Europe  were  venturing  across  the  North  Sea  in  their 
single- masted,  many-oared  galleys.  Until  this  time 
the  superstitious  seamen  of  Scandinavia  had  not  at- 
tempted to  sail  beyond  the  sight  of  land  to  any  great  dis- 
tance. Their  first  lessons  in  navigating  the  narrow 
expanse  of  the  the  North  Sea  were  taken  when  their 
boats  were  unexpectedly  carried  away  from  the  rugged 

'  Vide  Historia  Verdadera  de  la  Conqvista  de  la  Nueva-Espafla.  Escrita 
por  el  Capitan  Beraal  Diaz  del  Castillo,  vno  de  sus  Conquistadores.  En 
Madrid,  1632. 

Antiquities  of  Mexico  :  comprising  fac-similes  of  ancient  Mexican  paint- 
ings and  hieroglyphics,  preserved  in  the  Royal  libraries  of  Paris,  Berlin,  and 
Dresden  ;  in  the  Imperial  library  at  Vienna  ;  in  the  Vatican  library ;  in  the 
Borgian  museum  at  Rome ;  in  the  library  of  the  Institute  at  Bologna  ;  and  in 
the  Bodleian  library  at  Oxford.  Together  with  the  monuments  of  New  Spain, 
by  M.  Dupaix ;  with  their  respective  scales  of  measurements  and  accompanying 
descriptions.  The  whole  illustrated  by  many  valuable  inedited  manuscripts, 
by  Lord  Kingsborough.    In  nine  volumes.     London,  1831-1848. 


33 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


coast  of  Norway  by  tempestuous  winds  to  the  Het- 
land'  and  Fer  Ge'  (Far  islands).  Whatever  fears  of 
permanent  exile  on  these  unexplored  islands  may  at 
first  have  alarmed  the  deported  Northmen,  these 
were  dispelled  by  the  cheering  suggestion  that  when 
the  wind  blew  from  the  west  they  could  return  to  their 
o'vn  country.  As  soon  as  the  wind  blew  eastwardly 
they  put  to  sea.  Using  their  sails  and  oars  they  safely 
reached  the  western  shore  of  Scandinavia.  Frequent 
experiences  of  this  kind  in  time  emboldened  the 
Norwegian  seamen  to  undertake  voyages  to  the 
westward  islands  in  search  of  booty.  Having  no 
compass  to  guide  their  galleys  thither,  they  carried 
with  them  hawks  or  ravens,  and  when  uncertain  re- 
specting the  course  of  their  vessels,  they  let  loose  a 
cast  of  these  birds,  which  instinctively  flew  to  the 
nearest  land.  Thitherward  they  steered,  and  finding 
that  it  was  their  destination  or  not,  they  secured  what- 
ever plunder  they  could  and  departed.  Not  unfre- 
quently  the  vessels  of  the  Norse  sea-kings  were  lost 
in  storms  on  the  wild  waters  of  the  Atlantic,  or 
wrecked  on  the  inhospitable  shores  of  remote  islands. 
Jt  is  said  that  Naddoddr,  a  Norwegian  pirate,  was 
drifted  in  his  ship  by  an  adverse  wind,  in  860.  to  Ice- 
land, which   he   called   Sneeland  (Snowland).^     It  is 

*  Now  called  the  Shetland  islands,  but  the  name  is  printed  on  the  early 
maps  Hetland  ;  from  Swedish  het,  hot,  and  land,  land.  The  group  lies  about 
180  miles  from  Norway,  between  59°  50'  and  60°  50'  north  latitude, 

•The  Fer  Oe  or  Far  islands  lie  about  170  miles  northwest  of  the  Shet- 
land group,  and  are  between  61°  20'  and  62°  25'  north  latitude.  The  name  is 
derived  ixoxA  fer,  far,  (Swedish,)  and  oe,  islands. 

'  Iceland  lies  between  latitude  6g°  24'  and  66°  33'  N.  and  longitude  13* 
31'  and  24°  17'  W.  It  is  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  east  of  Greenland,  six 
hundred  west  of  Norway,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  northwest  of  the  Fer  fie, 
or  Far  islands. 


) 


SIGURUI   STEPHANII  TERRARUM    MYl'KRBOREAUUM    DELINEATIO, 

ANNO  1570. 


Delineation  of  the  Hyperborean  Regions,  \>y  Sigurd  Stephanus  in  the  year  1570.     (Size  of  the 

original,  6}  inches  square.) 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


33 


also  related  that  when  the  famous  viking,  Floki,  was 
lost  in  his  vessel  in  stormy  weather,  between  the 
islands  of  Faroe  and  Sneeland,  in  865,  he  let  fly  three 
ravens,  one  of  which  flew  back  to  the  Faroe  islands, 
the  second  returned  to  the  ship,  and  the  third  winged 
its  way  toward  the  more  northerly  island  which  the 
perplexed  Northman  was  seeking.  This  sturdy  sea- 
man described  the  new  country  as  volcanic  and  sterile, 
glacial  and  cold,  and  appropriately  called  it  Island 
(Iceland).  His  companions,  however,  reported  that 
they  had  found  it  to  have  a  delightful  climate  and  a . 
fertile  soil.  One,  wishing  to  describe  its  general  fruit- 
fulness  in  a  more  attractive  way,  averred  that  "  milk 
dropped  from  every  plant  and  butter  from  every 
twig."'  In  a  short  time  a  course  to  Iceland  was 
marked  out  by  the  early  rovers  of  the  North  Sea,  who, 
before  the  close  of  the  ninth  century,  planted  a  colony 
on  the  bleak  coast  of  this  icy  island,  the  most  westerly 
land  hitherto  discovered  by  the  fearless  seamen  of 
Scandinavia." 

But  Iceland  did  not  long  remain  the  most  remote 
part  of  the  western  world  known  to  the  people  of 
Europe.  Gunnbjorn,  a  Norwegian,  driven  westward  in 
his  ship  beyond  Iceland,  in  a  storm,  in  876,  descried 
land  looming  up  along  the  western  horizon.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  tenth  century,  Eric  the  Red,  whom 
the  public  assembly  of  Iceland  had  declared  an  outlaw, 
determined  to  go  in  search  of  the  land  seen  by  Gunn- 

*  History  of  the  Northmen,  by  Henry  Wheaton.  London,  1S31.  pp.  17,  18. 
Iceland,  or  the  journal  of  a  residence  in  that  island,  during  the  years  1814 

and  1815,  by  Ebenezer  Henderson,    vol.  i.  Intro,  pp.  xv.  and  308. 

*  "  Men  of  experience  say,  who  have  been  bom  in  Greenland,  and  have 
recently  come  from  Greenland,  that  from  Stadt,  in  the  north  part  of  Norway,  to 
Horns,  on  the  east  coast  of  Ice'and  >s  seven  days'  sailing  directly  westward." 
— Antiqvitates  Americanae,  sive  script.ores  septentrionales  rerum  Ante-Colum- 
bianarum  in  America.  Edidit  Societas  Regia  Antiqvariorum  Septentrionalium. 
Hafnise,  1837.    Ivar  Bardsen's  treatise,    p.  302. 


24 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


■ 


' 


I    I 


bjorn.  He  sailed  from  Iceland  about  the  year  981 ,  and 
came  in  sight  of  the  coast  of  Greenland,  at  a  place 
called  Midjokul.'  He  then  steered  southward  to  see 
whether  the  country  were  habitable.  He  passed  the 
first  winter  near  the  middle  of  the  site  of  the  eastern 
settlement  {eystri  hygd).'  In  the  following  summer 
he  reached  the  western  uninhabited  region  {vestri 
uby^d),^  and  gave  names  to  many  places.  As  soon  as 
the  ice  disappeared,  at  the  close  of  the  second  winter, 
and  the  sea  was  again  navigable,  he  returned  to  Ice- 
land, and  called  the  country  which  he  had  explored 
Graenland  (oreenland),  "because"  he  said,  "people 
will  be  influenced  to  immigrate  to  it,  if  the  land  bears 
an  attractive  name."  Among  those  whom  Eric  in- 
duced to  return  with  him  as  colonists  to  Greenland 
was  a  Norwegian,  named.  Herjulf.  Thirty-five  ships 
[skipa)  filled  with  emigrants  set  sail  from  Iceland  for 
the  newly  explored  country,  but  only  fourteen  of  the 
vessels  reached  the  jDlaces  where  the  colonists  were  to 
dwell.  Eric  the  Red  settled  at  Brattahlid,  and  Herjulf 
erected  his  house  on  a  cape  called  Herjulfsnes  (Her- 
julfs  nose,  or  promontory).*     "This  was  fifteen  winters 

'  "  He  who  sails  from  Iceland  [to  Greenland]  must  steer  his  course  from 
Snefelsnes,  which  is  twelve  nautical  miles  (tholUt  soes)  farther  to  the  west  than 
the  mentioned  Reychenes,  and  for  a  day  and  a  night  he  will  sail  due  west,  bat 
then  he  must  steer  to  the  southwest  to  avoid  the  ice  that  adheres  to  GunnbjOrn's 
rocks.  Then  he  must  hold  his  course  one  day  and  one  night  to  the  northwest, 
which  will  bring  him  straight  to  that  high  land  of  Greenland  called  Hvarf, 
under  which  lie  the  mentioned  Herjulfsnes  and  Sand  haffn." 

"They  who  wish  to  sail  direct  from  Berger  [in  Norway]  to  Greenland  with- 
out touching  Iceland,  must  sail  due  west  until  they  find  themselves  twelve 
nautical  miles  (xii  uger  soes)  south  of  Reychenes,  a  promontory  on  the  south 
coast  of  Iceland,  and  by  holding  this  course  toward  the  west  they  will  come  to 
the  high  land  ot  Greenland  called  Hvarf." — Antiq.  Amer.  Ivar  Bardsen's 
treatise,     pp.  304,  305  ;  303,  304. 

*  Bygd,  inhabited  land,  a  place  of  residence,  an  abode. 
'  Ubygd,  an  unpeopled  tract,  dcbert. 

*  "  A  day  before  you  descry  the  said  Hvarf  you  ought  to  see  another  high 
mountain  called  Hvidserk.    Under  these  two  mountains— -Hvard  and  Hvidserk 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


35 


before  Christianity  was  established  by  law  in  Iceland."  * 
i^mong  the  traditions  preserved  of  the  voyages  of 
the  Northmen  in  the  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth 
centuries,  there  are  several  that  have  caused  con- 
siderable controversy  respecting  the  historical  and 
geographical  value  of  the  information  contained  in 
them  ;  for  a  number  of  eminent  writers  have  mad/j 
use  of  this  information  to  show  that  the  Northmen 
were  the  first  discoverers  of  America  and  the  ex- 
plorers of  a  large  part  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
continent.'  Although  the^e  sagas  or  legends  of  Ice- 
land were  unrecorded  for  several  centuries,  the  manu- 
scripts which  now  contain  them  are  assumed  to  have 
been  written  in  a  manner  so  precise  that  translations 
of  their  text  are  presented  to  prove  that  the  Norse 
vikings  not  only  made  frequent  voyages  to  America, 
but  that  they  have  left  definite  and  reliable  informa- 
tion respecting  the  parts  of  the  coast  visited  by  them. 

— is  a  promontory  (ms)  called  Herjulfsnes,  near  which  is  a  harbor  called  Sand- 
haffn.  •  •  *  The  inhabited  part  of  Greenland  lying  eastwardly,  next  to 
Herjulfsnes,  is  called  SkagefjOrd." — Antiq.  Amer.    Ivar  Bardsen's  treatise,    pp. 

304,  305- 

'  Christianity,  it  is  said,  was  introduced  in  Iceland  in  the  year  1000. — 
Antiq.  Amer.  pp.  10,  11,  14,  and  note  d.  The  discovery  of  America  by  the 
Northmen.     Py  North  Ludlow  Beamish.     London,  1841.     pp.  47,  ^b 

'The  traditions  of  the  voyages  of  Bjami,  the  son  of  Herjulf,  and  of  Leif, 
the  son  of  Eric  the  Red,  are  contained  in  a  large  folio  of  manuscripts  found  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  in  a  monastery  on  '.he  island  called  Flato,  north  of 
BreidafjOrd,  in  Iceland.  This  book  of  Flattt  was  purchased,  about  the  year 
1660,  by  Bishop  Brynjulf  Sveinson  of  Skalholt,  in  Iceland,  and  was  sent  by  him 
as  a  gift  to  King  Frederic  III.  of  Denmark,  and  is  now  in  the  Royal  Library 
of  Copenhagen.  A  part  of  the  inscription  on  the  first  page  of  the  volume 
bears  this  translation  :  "  This  book,  Jonn,  the  son  of  Hakon,  owns.  *  *  * 
The  priest,  Jonn,  the  son  of  Thord,  wrote  out  the  narrative  concerning  Eric, 
the  traveller,  and  the  histories  of  each  of  the  Olafs  ;  and  the  priest,  Magnus, 
the  son'  of  Tnorhall,  wrote  out  that  which  follows,  also  that  which  procedes, 
and  illuminated  the  whole.  God  Almighty  and  the  Holy  Virgin  Mary  bless 
those  who  wrote  and  him  who  dictated. " 

It  is  supposed  that  these  traditions.,  which  are  finely  engrossed  in  Ice- 
land'c  on  vellum,  contained  in  the  Codex  Flateyensis,  were  compiled  between 
the  years  1387  and  1395. — Antiq.  Amer.   pp.  1-4. 


26 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


Other  distinofuished  writers  consider  these  traditions  as 
too  mythical  and  vague  to  be  deemed  valuable,  either 
historically  or  geographically  ^nd  argue  that  what  is 
thought  to  describe  the  physical  features  and  pro- 
ductions of  parts  of  the  present  territory  of  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  United  States  describes  the  topography 
and  fruits  of  Greenland.  A  brief  narration  of  the  most 
important  particulars  of  the  voyages  of  several  of  the 
Northmen  who  have  been  regarded  af.  the  first  discov- 
erers of  parts  of  the  continent  of  America,  will  suffice 
to  show  the  grounds  upon  which  rest  many  of  the 
arguments  that  have  been  adv.?r»r  -i  '.o  support  the 
opinion  that  these  persons  had  landed  upon  its  shores 
and  explored  a  great  extent  of  its  Atlantic  coast. 

It  is  said  in  the  saga  of  Eric  the  Red  and  of  the 
Greenlanders,'  that  when  Herjulf  sailed,  in  the  spring 
of  985,  from  Iceland  to  Greenland,  his  son  Bjarni  was 
in  Norway.  When  the  latter,  in  the  following  summer 
returned  to  Iceland,  and  learned  that  his  father  had 
emigrated  to  the  country  recently  explored  by  Eric 
the  Red,  he  determined  to  sail  to  it  and  pass  the  winter 
with  his  father,  as  had  been  his  custom  for  many  years. 
He  evidently  had  some  misgivings  respecti.T  the  suc- 
cess of  the  contemplated  voyage,  for  h**.  r  .•'  to  his 
companions  :  •'  Our  going  there  will  be  d  v  -d  of 
common-sense,  since  not  one  of  us  has  traversed  the 
Greenland  Sea."  "Nevertheless,"  as  the  tradition 
runs,  "  as  soon  as  they  had  fitted  for  the  voyage,  they 
intrusted  themselves  to  the  ocean,  and  made  "ail  three 
days,  until  the  land  passed  out  of  their  sight  from  the 
water.  But  then  the  bearing  winds  ceased  to  blow, 
and  northern  breezes  and  a  fos"  succeeded,  Then  they 
were   drifted    about   for   many  days  and   nights,  not 

'  Thaettir  af  Eirtki  Kauda  ok  Graenlendingum, 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


27 


knowing  whither  they  tended.  After  this  the  light  of 
the  sun  was  seen,  and  they  were  able  to  survey  the 
regions  of  the  sky.  Now  they  carried  sail,  and  steered 
this  day  before  they  beheld  land."  They  sailed  near 
to  it,  and  "soon  saw  that  the  country  was  not  moun- 
tainous, but  covered  with  trees  and  diversified  with 
little  hills.  They  left  the  land  on  their  larboard  side, 
and  let  the  stern  turn  from  the  shore.  Then  they 
sailed  two  days  before  they  saw  another  land  [or 
region].  *  *  *  They  then  approached  it,  and 
saw  that  it  was  level  and  covered  with  trees.  Then, 
the  favorrible  wind  having  ceased  blowing,  the  sailors 
d  thuc  it  seemed  to  them  that  it  would  be  well  to 


odiv^ 


land  there,  but  Bjarni  was  unwilling  to  do  so.  *  *  * 
He  bade  them  make  sail,  which  was  done.  They 
turned  the  prow  from  the  land,  and  sailed  out  into  the 
open  sea,  where  for  three  days  they  had  a  favorable 
sorth-southwest  wind.  They  saw  a  third  land  [cr 
region],  but  it  was  high  and  mountainous  and  covered 
with  glaciers.  *  *  *  They  did  not  lower  sail,  but 
holding  their  course  along  the  shore,  they  found  it  to 
be  an  island.  Again  they  turned  the  stern  against  the 
land,  and  made  sail  for  the  high  sea,  having  the  same 
wind,  which  gradually  increasing,  Bjarni  ordered  the 
sails  to  be  shortened,  forbidding  the  use  of  more 
canvas  than  the  ship  and  her  outfit  could  conveniently 
bear.  Thus  they  sailed  for  four  days,  when  they  saw  a 
fourth  land"  [or  region],  which  was  Greenland,  where 
Bjarni  found  his  father.* 

Bjarni's  discoveries,  it  is  said,  were  often  the  sub- 
ject of  conversation  among  the  Northmen.  It  is 
further  related  that  Leif,  the  son  of  Eric  the  Red,  pur- 
chased Bjarni's  ship  and  set  sail  in  it  with  thirty-five 

^Bjarni   leitadi    Graenlands. — Antiq.    Amer,    pp.  17-25.     Discovery  of 
America.     Beamish,    pp.  47,  48. 


.^Mft^  %^  t^a—^KH'-J^ 


f 


' 


r 


( I 


I } 


23 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


men  from  Brattahlid  about  the  year  locx)  to  seek  new 
lands.  Nothing  is  told  in  the  tradition  concerning  the 
direction  in  which  these  Northmen  sailed,  only  that 
"  they  first  came  to  the  land  [or  region]  last  seen  by 
Bjarni.  They  steered  toward  the  shore,  cast  anchor, 
p'lt  out  the  boat,  and  went  on  land,  where  they  saw  no 
herbage.  The  whole  country  was  filled  with  high  icy 
mountains,  and  fi-om  the  sea  all  the  way  to  the  icy 
mountains  was  a  plain  of  flat  stones."  Leif  called  the 
region  Helluland.' 

When  Leif  and  his  companions  departed  from 
Helluland,  it  is  related  that  they  "put  out  to  sea  and 
found  another  land  [or  region].  This  was  a  level 
country  and  covered  with  trees."  Leif  named  it 
Markland. " 

As  related  in  the  saga,  when  they  departed  from 
Markland,  "  they  sailed  on  the  high  sea,  having  a 
northeast  wind,  and  were  two  days  at  sea  before  they 
saw  land.  They  steered  toward  it  and  touched  the 
island  lying  before  the  north  part  of  the  land.  When 
they  went  on  land  they  surveyed  it,  for  by  good  for- 
tune the  weather  was  serene.  They  found  the  grass 
sprinkled  with  dew,  and  it  happened  by  chance  that 
tbey  touched  the  dew  with  their  hands  and  carried  them 
to  their  mouths  and  perceived  that  it  had  a  sweet  taste 
which  they  had  not  before  noticed.  Then  they  re- 
turned to  the  ship  and  sailed  through  a  bay  lying  be- 
tween the  island  and  a  tongue  of  land  running  toward 
the  north.  Steering  a  course  to  the  west  shore,  they 
passed  the  tongue  of  land.     Here  when  the  tide  ebbed 

'  From  Aelia,  a  flat  stone. 

Certain  writers  believe  that  Newfoundland  was  called  Helluland  by  the 
Northmen.     The  island  lies  about  six  hundred  miles  south  of  Greenland. 

•  Nova  Scotia  is  supposed  by  some  writers  to  be  the  region  named  Mark- 
land  by  the  Northmen.  It  is  about  four  hundred  miles  southwest  of  New- 
foundland. 


I  by 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


29 


there  were  very  narrow  shoals.  When  the  ship  got 
aground  there  were  shallows  of  great  extent  between 
the  vessel  and  the  receded  sea.  So  great  was  the 
desire  of  the  men  to  go  on  land  that  they  were  unwill- 
ing to  stay  on  board  until  the  returning  tide  floated 
the  ship.  They  went  ashore  at  a  place  where  a  river 
flowed  out  from  a  lake.  When  the  tide  floated  the 
ship,  they  took  the  boat  and  rowed  to  the  vessel  and 
brousfht  her  into  the  river  and  then  into  the  lake. 
Here  they  anchored,  carried  the  luggage  from  the 
ship,  and  built  dwellings.  Afterward  they  held  a  con- 
sultation and  resolved  to  remain  at  this  place  during 
the  winter.  Then  they  erected  large  buildings.  There 
were  not  only  many  salmon  in  the  river  but  also  in  the 
lake  and  of  a  larger  size  than  they  had  before  seen. 
So  great  was  the  fertility  of  the  soil  that  they  were 
led  to  believe  that  cattle  would  not  be  in  want  of  food 
during  winter,  or  that  wintry  coldness  would  prevail,  or 
the  grass  wither  much." 

While  the  Northmen  were  passing  the  winter  on 
the  shore  of  the  unnamed  lake,  it  happened  one  even- 
ing that  a  Southern  man,  named  Tyrker,  did  not 
return  with  those  who  had  been  out  exploring  the 
country.  Those  who  went  to  search  for  the  absent 
man  met  him  returning  to  the  quarters.  They  were 
surprised  wvhen  he  told  them  that  he  had  found  wine- 
wood  and  wine-berries  [vinvid  ok  vinber).  "  Is  this 
true,  my  teacher  ? "  asked  Leif.  "  It  is  really  true," 
Tyrker  replied,  "for  where  I  was  brought  up  there  was 
not  wanting  either  wine-wood  or  wine-berries."  They 
passed  this  night  in  sleep,  but  on  the  following  morning 
Leif  said  to  the  men  :  "  Two  things  are  now  to  be 
done  on  alternate  days,  gathering  wine-berrfes  or  hew- 
ing wine-wood  and    felling    trees,   (iesa  vinber,  edr 


f 


i 


30 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


hbggva  vinvid  ok  fella  morkina,)  with  which  my  ships 
should  be  loaded."  Having  loaded  the  ship  and  the 
•  spring  approaching  they  prepared  to  depart.  To  desig- 
nate the  productions  of  the  region,  Leif  called  it  Vin- 
land  (Wine-land).  They  then  put  to  sea  and  had  a 
favorable  wind  until  they  came  in  sight  of  Greenlal^d.* 
As  a  number  of  writers  have  assumed  that  the  re- 
gion of  Vinland,  where  Leif  and  his  companions  win- 
tered, was  the  country  adjacent  Mount  Hope  Bay,  in 
Rhode  Island,  the  following  description  of  a  part  of  the 
east  coast  of  Greenland,  given  by  Captain  W.  A. 
Graah,  who  was  sent  there,  in  1828,  by  the  Danish 
government  to  obtain  information  respecting  the  oite 
of  the  eastern  settlement  {eystri  bygd),  will  likely  afford 
grounds  for  a  more  plausible  conjecture  that  Vinland 
was  a  region  in  Greenland  :  "  August  30  [1829]. — 
The  place  we  now  were  at  was  the  Ekallumiut  [be- 
tween the  sixty-third  and  sixty-fourth  parallel  of  north 
latitude],  so  often  mentioned.  The  cove,  the  length 
of  which  is  between  one  and  two  cable-lengths,  has  on 
both  sides  of  it,  but  particularly  on  the  eastern,  fields 
of  considerable  extent,  covered  with  dwarf-willows, 
juniper-berry,  black  crake-berry,  and  whortleberry 
heath,  the  first-named  growing  to  the  height  of  two 
feet,  and  the  whole  interspersed  with  a  good  many 
patches  of  a  fine  species  of  grass,  which,  however,  was 
very  much  burnt  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  except  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  brooks  and  rivulets  that, 
in  great  number,  ran  down  the  sides  of  the  hills,  and 
intersected  the  level  land  in  every  direction.  At  the 
the  bottom  of  the  cove  stretches  an  extensive  valley, 
through  which  runs  a  stream  abounding  in  char,  [a 
species  of  salmon,]  and  having  its  source  in  the  glaciers, 

'  Hir  Hefr  GraenUndinga  Thdtt.     Antiq.  Amer.    pp.  2&-40.    Discovery 
of  America.   Beamish,  pp.  59-70. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


31 


of  which  several  gigantic  arms  reach  down  into  the 
valley  from  the  height  in  the  background.  On  the 
banks  of  this  brook  the  grass  grew  luxuriantly ;  but 
it  was  far  from  being,  at  many  places,  of  a  height  fit  for 
mowing,  so  that  even  this  spot,  where  grass  was  more 
abundant  than  anywhere  else  perhaps  along  the  whole 
coast,  does  not  seem  calculated  to  furnish  winter 
fodder  for  any  considerable  number  of  cattle.  Various 
flowers,  among  which  the  sweet-smelling  lychnis, 
everywhere  adorned  the  fields.  *  *  *  At  this 
really  beautiful  spot,  the  natives  of  the  country  round 
assemble  for  a  few  days  during  their  brief  summer,  to 
feast  upon  the  char  that  are  to  be  got  here  in  great 
plenty  and  of  a  great  size,  the  black  crake-berry  and 
angelica,  and  to  lay  in  a  stock  of  them  for  winter  use, 
and  give  themselves  up  to  mirth  and  merry-making."* 
It  is  further  related,  in  the  saga,  concerning  Vin- 
land,  that  "  the  days  are  more  equai  there  than  in 
Greenland  or  Iceland  ;  there  the  sun  sets  at  eykt  time 
{eyktar-stad,  3:30  p.m.),  and  rises  at  day-meal  time 
[dagmala-stady  breakfast-time),  on  the  shortest  day."  ' 

'  Narrative  of  an  expedition  to  the  east  coast  of  Greenland,  sent  by  order 
of  the  king  of  Denmark,  in  search  of  the  lost  colonies,  under  the  command  of 
Captain  W.  A.  Graah,  of  the  Danish  royal  navy.  Translated  from  the 
Danish  by  the  late  G.  Gordon  Macdougall,  F. R.S.N. A.,  for  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society  of  London.     London,  1837.   pp.  106,  107. 

*  "  Meira  var  thar  jafndaegri  enn  d  Gratnlandi  edr  Islandi,  sdl  hafdi  that 
eyktarstad  ok  dagmdlastad  um  skamdegi." 

"  Dag-mil,  n.  (vide  dagr),  prop.  '  day-meal'  one  of  the  divisions  of  the  day, 
usually  about  eight  or  nine  o'clock,  a.m.  ;  the  Latin  hora  tertia  is  rendered  by 
'  er  ver  kOllum  dagmal,'  which  we  call  d,,  Horn.  [Homiliu-bok],  142  ;  enn  er 
ekki  lidit  af  dagmdlum,  Horn.  (St.)  10.  Acts  11,  15  ;  in  Glum.  [Viga-Glums 
Saga],  342,  we  are  told  that  the  young  Glum  was  very  lazy,  and  lay  in  bed  till 
day-meal  every  morning,  cp.  also  343  ;  Hrafn.  [Hrafnkels  Saga]  28  and  O.  H. 
L.  [Olafs  Saga  Helga  Legendaria]  18 — aeinum  morni  milli  rismdla  ok  dag. 
mala — where  distinction  is  made  between  rismal  (fm/t^ /tw)  and  dagmal,  so 
as  to  make  a  separate  dagsmark  (q.  v.)  of  each  of  them  ;  and  again,  a  distinction 
is  made  between  'midday'  and  dagmal,  Isl.  [Islenzkar],  11,  334.  The  dagmal 
is  thus  midway  between  '  rising '  and  '  midday,'  which  accords  well  with  the 


32 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


Ji 


As  there  is  no  reliable  informatica  to  indicate  that 
the  Northmen  of  the  tenth  century  had  any  instru- 
ments by  which  they  could  accurately  measure  the 
changing  spaces  of  day  and  night,  or  that  their  ob- 
servations of  the  sun  gave  them  the  knowledge  of 
astronomical  time,  an  attempt  to  elucidate  the  exact 
duration  of  the  shortest  day  in  Vinland  from  the  vague 

present  use.  The  word  is  synonymous  with  dagver  darmdl,  breakfast-time,  and 
denotes  the  hour  when  the  ancient  Icelanders  used  to  lake  their  chief  meal, 
opposed  to  nattmal,  night-meal  ox  supper-time,  Fms.  [Fornmanna  SOgur],  viii, 
330  ;  even  the  MSS.  use  dagmdl  and  dagverdarmal  indiscriminately  ;  cp.  also 
Sturl.  [Sturlunga  Saga]  111,4c;  Rb,  [Rimbegla],  452  says  that  at  full  moon 
the  ebb  takes  place  '  at  dagmd-lum.'  To  put  the  dagmdl  at  7:30  A.M.,  as  Pal 
Vidalin  does,  seems  neither  to  accord  with  the  present  use  nor  the  passage  in 
Glum  or  the  eccl.  hora  tertia,  which  was  the  nearest  hour  answering  to  the  Icel. 
calculation  of  the  day.  In  Fb.  [Flateyjar  bok]  1.539,  >'  >*  said  that  the  sun  set 
at  'eykd'  (t.  e.  half-past  three  o'clock),  but  rose  at  'dagmdl,'  which  puts  the 
dagmal  at  8:30  A.M.  Compds.  dagmak-stadr,  m.  the placf.  of  d.  in  the  hotizon, 
Fb.  [Flateyjar  bok]" 

"  Eykt,  eykd,  f.  three  or  half-past  three  o'clock,  P.M.;  many  commentaries 
have  been  written  upon  this  word,  as  by  Pal  Vidalin  Skyr,  Finn  Johnson  in  H. 
E.  [Historia  Ecclesiastica  Islandiae]  i.  153  sqq.  note  6,  and  in  Ilorologium, 
etc.  The  time  of  eykd  is  clearly  defined  in  K.  Th.  K.  [Krislinnrettr  Thorlaks 
ok  Ketils],  92  as  the  time  when  the  sun  has  past  two  parts  of  the  '  utsudr  '  (q.  v.) 
and  has  one  part  left,  that  is  to  say,  half -past  three  o'clock,  p.m.  :  it  thus  nearly 
coincides  with  the  eccl.  Lat.  nona  (three  o'clock,  P.M.)  ;  and  both  eykt  and  nona 
are  therefore  used  indiscriminately  in  some  passages.  Sunset  at  the  time  of 
*  eykd '  is  opposed  to  sunrise  at  the  time  of  '  dagmal, '  q.  v.  In  Norway  '  ykt ' 
means  a  luncheon  taken  about  half-past  three  o'clock.  But  the  passage  in 
Edda — that  autumn  ends  and  winter  begins  at  sunset  at  the  time  of  eykt — con- 
founded the  commentators  who  believed  it  to  refer  to  the  conventional  Icel. 
winter,  which  (in  the  old  style)  begins  with  the  middle  of  Octol  r,  and  lasts  six 
months.  In  the  latitude  of  Reykholt — the  residence  of  Snorri — the  sun  at  this 
time  sets  about  half-past  four.  Upon  this  statemf  it  the  commciitstors  have 
based  their  reasoning  both  in  regard  to  dagmal  ana  eykt,  placing  the  eykt  at 
half-past  four.p.M.,  and  dagmal  at  half-past  seven,  A.M.,  although  this  contra* 
diets  the  definition  of  these  terms  in  the  law.  The  passage  in  Edda  probably 
came  from  a  foreign  source,  and  refers  not  to  the  Icel.  winter  but  to  the  ■'s- 
tronomical  winter,  viz. ,  the  winter  solstice  or  the  shortest  day  ;  for  sunset  at 
half-past  three  is  suited  not  to  Icel.,  but  to  the  latitude  of  Scotland  and  the 
southern  parts  of  Scandinavia.  The  word  is  also  curious  from  its  bearing 
upon  the  discovery  of  America  by  the  ancients,  vide  Fb.  [Flateyjar-bo'c]  1.  c. 
This  sense  {half -past  three)  is  now  obsolete  in  Icel.,  but  eykt  is  in  freq.  use  in 
the  sense  of  trihorium,  a  time  of  three  hours  ;  whereas  in  the  oldest  sagas  no 
passage  has  been  found  bearing  this  sense, — the  Bs.  [Biskupa  Sttgur]  r,  385, 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


33 


signification  of  the  words  eyktar-stad  and  ddgmdla-stad 
would  consequently  be  futile  and  unsatisfactory.  Nev- 
ertheless a  number  of  scholars  have  attempted  to  de- 
termine the  length  of  the  shortest  day  at  the  place 
where  the  Northmen  built  their  winter-quarters.  Some 
have  given  the  day  a  measurement  of  six  hours,  others 
seven,  eight,  and  nine  hours.'     These  different  lengths 

446,  and  Ilem.  [Hemings-thattr]  1.  c,  are  of  the  13th  and  14th  centuries.  In 
Norway  ykt  is  freq  used  metaph.  of  all  the  four  meal  times  in  the  day,  mom- 
ing-ykt,  midday-ykt,  afternoon-ykt  (or  ykt  proper),  and  even-ykt.  In  old  MSS,, 
Grig.,  K.  Th.  K.  Hem.  Heid.  S.  [GragAs,  Kristinnrettr,  Thorliks  ok  Ketils, 
Hemings-thattr,  Heidarviga  Saga],  this  word  is  always  spelt  eykd  or  eykth, 
shewing  the  root  to  be  '  auk '  with  the  fem.  inflex.  added  ;  it  probably  first 
meant  the  eie-me&X,  answering  to  Engl,  lunch,  and  thenco  came  to  mean  the 
time  of  day  at  which  this  meal  was  taken.  Theeccl.  law  dilates  upon  the  word, 
as  the  Sabbath  was  to  begin  at  *  hora  nana  '  ;  hence  the  phrase,  eykt  helgr  dagr. 
*    «    * 

"  Eyktar-stadr.  m.  tie  place  of  the  sun  at  half -past  three,  P.M.;  meira  var, 
thar  jafndaegri  enn  d  Graenlandi  edr  fslandi,  sol  hafdi  thar  eyktar-stad  ok  dag- 
mala-stad  um  skamdegi,  Fb.  [Flateyjar  bok]  i,  539, — this  passage  refers  to  the 
discovery  of  America  ;  but  in  A.  A.  [Antiquitates  Americans],  1.  c,  it  is 
wrongly  explained  as  denoting  the  shortest  day  nine  hours  long,  instead  of 
seven  ;  it  follows  that  the  latitude  fixed  by  the  editors  of  A.  A.  [Antiquitates 
Americanae]  is  too  far  to  the  south." 

"  Dagr,  m.  *  *  *  a  day,  *  *  *  5,  the  day  is  in  Icel.  divided  ac- 
cording to  the  position  of  the  sun  above  the  horizon  ;  these  fixed  traditional 
marks  are  called  dags-mtirk,  day-marks,  and  are  substitutes  for  the  hours  of 
modern  times,  viz.  ris-mal  or  midr-morgun,  Oag-mal,  ha-degi,  mid-degi  or  mid- 
mundi,  non,  midr-aptan,  natt-mal." 

"  Stadr,  m.,  gen.  stadar,  dat.  stad,  and  older  stadi,  pi.  stadir  :  ♦  *  *  a 
'stead,'  place,  abode." — An  Icelandic-English  dictionary  based  on  the  MS.  col- 
lections of  the  late  Richard  Cleasby,  enlarged  and  completed  by  Gudbrand  Vig- 
fusson,  M.  A.    Oxford,  1874. 

'  Thormod  Torfason,  or  Torfseus,  as  his  name  is  Latinized,  in  the  addenda 
of  his  History  of  Ancient  Vinland  (rlisloria  Vinlandite  Antiqute),  printed  at 
Copenhagen,  in  1705,  explains  the  meaning  of  the  words,  saying  that  the  sun  in 
Vinland,  on  the  shortest  day,  was  six  hours  above  the  horizon,  which  would  im- 
ply that  this  land  lay  between  the  fifty-eighth  and  sixty-first  parallels  of  north 
latitude.  "  Torfoeus  confirms  his  interpretation  by  the  authority  of  Arngrim 
Jonas,  a  learned  Icelander  who  flourished  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  and  begin- 
ning of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  who  was  deemed  a  profound  astronomer. 
In  his  '  History  of  Greenland,'  he  thus  renders  the  passage  we  are  considering  : 
'  There  is  in  Vinland  no  winter,  no  cold,  no  frost  as  in  Iceland  or  Greenland ; 
inasmuch  as  the  san,  on  the  very  day  of  the  winter  solstice  (they  had  no  dials 
there),  passes  about  six  hours  above  the  horizon.'     Having  cited  this  passage 


. 


\ 


'.^ 


« 


34 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


of  the  day  involve  the  inference  that  Vinland  was  some- 
where between  the  forty-first  and  sixty-first  parallels 
of  north  latitude. 

It  is  related  in  another  saga  or  legend  that  Vinland 
was  visited  in  the  eleventh  century  by  other  Northmen.' 
Among  the  number  were  Thorfinn  Karlsefne,  Snorro 
Thorbn  ndson,  Bjarni  Grimolfson,  and  Thorhall  Gam- 
lason.  It  is  said  that  the  three  ships  which  departed 
from  the  western  settlement,  in  the  spring  of  1007,  had 
on 'uonrd  one  hundred  and  forty  men  {40  manna  ok 
hundrad).  After  sailing  two  days  southward  from 
Bjanneyjar  they  reached  Helluland.  "  Thence  they 
sailed  two  days,  and  turned  from  the  south  to  the 
southeast,"  and  came  to  Mar  la'  ^. 

When  the  Northmen  dep.  *  *rom  Markland,  it  is 
said  in  the  saga  that  '*  they   tuen   "tailed   far  to  the 

from  Arngrim  Jonas,  Torfteus  proceeds  :  '  This  meaning  1  ii.id  long  ago  given 
thia  passage,  first  on  the  authority  (if  I  rightly  understood  him)  of  Bryniulf 
Sveinson,  the  most  learned  of  all  the  bishops  of  Skalkhoit,  to  whom  I  was  sent, 
while  yet  a  youth,  in  the  year  1662,  with  royal  letters  from  my  gracious 
master.  King  Frederick  the  Third,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  tha  genuine  signi- 
fication of  the  more  difficult  ancient  words  and  phrases ;  and,  then,  from  the 
necessary  correspondence  of  the  time  of  sunset  with  that  of  sunrise.'" — (The 
Discovery  of  America  by  the  Northmen.  By  E.  Everett.  North  American  Re- 
view. January,  1838,  vol.  xlvi.  pp.  179-188.  Vide  Historia  Vinlandiae 
Antiqute,  seu  partis  Americas  Septentrionalis.  Per  Thormodum  Torfseum. 
Havniic,  1705.     Addenda. 

Professor  Charles  C.  Rafn,  secretary  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Anti- 
quaries, gives  this  rendition  of  the  passage  :  "When  the  day  is  shortest  the 
sun  there  has  a  place  (is  above  the  horizon)  from  half-past  seven  before  noon 
till  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon." — Antiq.  Amer.  p.  436.  Vide  Discov- 
ery of  America.  Beamish,  pp.64,  65.  According  to  Prof.  Rafn,  the  North- 
men built  their  winter-quarters  on  the  shore  of  Mount  Hope  bay,  Rhode  Island  ; 
the  day,  nine  hours  long,  indicating  the  latitude  of  41°  24'  10'. 

'  The  saga  of  Thorfinn  Karlsefne  and  Snorro  Thorbrandson  {^Saga  Thor- 
finns  Karlsefnis  ok  Snorra  Thorbrandssonar),  This  legend  is  written  on  vellum, 
and  is  one  of  the  valuable  Icelandic  manuscripts  called  the  Ama-Magnoean  col- 
lection, which  is  preserved  in  the  library  of  the  university  of  Copenhagen. 
The  manuscripts  were  bequeathed  to  the  university  by  Ame  Magnussen,  or,  as 
his  name  is  Latinized,  Arnus  Magnoeus,  an  Icelandic  scholar.  The  saga  of 
Thorfinn  is  supposed  to  have  been  compiled  in  the  fourteenth  centuiy. 


T 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


3S 


southward  along  the  coast  and  came  to  a  promontory. 
The  land  lay  on  the  right  and  had  a  long  sandy  beach. 
They  rowed  to  it  and  found  on  a  tongue  of  land  the 
keel  of  a  ship.  They  called  this  point  of  land  Kjalarnes 
(Keel  cape),  and  the  beach  Furdustrandir  (Long 
Strand),  for  it  took  a  long  time  to  sail  by  it.  Then  the 
coast  became  sinuous.  They  then  steered  the  ship 
into  an  inlet.  King  Olaf  Tryggvason  had  given  Leif 
two  Scotch  people,  a  man  named  Haki  and  a  woman 
named  Hekja.  They  were  swifter  than  animals.  These 
persons  were  in  the  ship  with  Karlsefne.  When  they 
had  sailed  past  Furdustrandir  they  put  these  Scots 
ashore  and  ordcied  them  to  run  to  the  south  of  the 
country  and  <  .plore  it,  and  return  within  three  days. 
*  *  *  They  were  absent  the  designated  time. 
When  they  returned,  one  brought  a  bunch  of  wine- 
berries  [vinberja  kongul),  the  other  an  ear  of  wheat 
{hveitiax  nysaid)J  When  they  were  taken  on  board, 
the  ship  sailed  farther.  They  camfe  into  a  bay,  where 
there  was  an  island  around  which  flowed  rapid  currents 
that  suggested  the  name  which  they  gave  it,  Straumey 
(Stream  island).  There  were  so  many  eider  ducks  on 
the  island  that  one  could  hardly  walk  about  without 

*  In  the  treatise  of  Ivar  Bardsen,  it  is  said  that  in  Greenland  "is  found 
the  best  of  wheat,  {beste  IJvede)," — Antiq.  Amer.  pp.  302-318, 

The  wild  wheat  (elymus  arenarius)  growing  on  the  sand  flats  of  Iceland 
is  thus  described  :  "  This  plant,  the  melur  ot  the  natives,  is  a  kind  of  grass, 
with  a  spike  or  ear  four  or  five  inches  long,  and  generally  appears  in  a  sandy 
soil.  The  sea-shore  and  tracts  of  volcanic  ashes  in  the  interior  are  equally 
favorable  to  its  growth,  though  it  is  principally  from  the  latter  that  the  seeds 
used  for  bread  are  obtained  ;  and  the  natives  regard  it  as  a  g'eat  gift  wherewith 
the  wise  Creator  has  blessed  those  mournful  wastes.  The  harvest  is  in  August, 
when  it  becomes  white  in  the  ear,  but  as  it  is  seldom  fully  ripe,  it  requires  to 
be  dried  before  grinding.  It  is  cut  with  a  sickle,  made  up  in  bundles,  and 
carried  home  on  the  backs  of  horses.  It  is  then  separated  from  the  straw, 
and  ground  in  hand-mills  cut  out  of  a  block  of  lava,  into  fine  meal  of  a  grayish 
color." — Historical  and  descriptive  account  of  Iceland,  Greenland,  and  the 
Faroe  islands,    pp.  385,  3S6. 


I  t; 


36 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


stepping  on  their  eggs.  They  called  this  place  Straum 
fjord  (Stream  inlet).  They  took  the  cargo  from  the 
ship  and  made  preparations  to  remain  there.  They 
had  with  them  different  kinds  of  cattle.  They  under- 
took nothing  but  the  exploration  of  the  land.  Without 
having  provided  food  beforehand  they  sustained  them- 
selves there  durmg  the  winter.  In  the  summer  the 
fishing  was  not  good  and  they  were  in  want  of  provi- 
sions. Thorhall  the  Iiunter  disappeared.  They  had 
previously  prayed  to  God  to  give  them  food,  but  they 
were  not  supplied  as  quickly  as  they  thought  their 
hunger  demanded.  They  searched  for  Thorhall  for 
three  days.  At  b^<t  they  found  him  lying  on  the  top 
of  a  rock,  looking  up  at  the  sky,  gasping  and  mutter- 
ing. They  asked  him  why  he  was  there.  He  said  that 
his  presence  there  should  not  trouble  them.  They 
prevailed  on  him  to  return  home  with  them.  A  whale 
was  stranded  there,  and  they  found  it  and  cut  it  up. 
No  one  knew  what  kind  of  a  whale  it  was,  and  when 
the  cook  prepared  a  part  of  it  for  them,  they  ate  it  and 
all  were  made  sick.  Then  Thorhall  said:  'The  red- 
bearded  [Thor,  the  god  of  thunder,]  was  more  help- 
ful than  your  Christ ;  this  [the  whale  meat]  I  have  re- 
ceived for  my  hymns  which  I  sing  of  Thor,  my  pro- 
tector ;  seldom  has  he  deserted  me.'  Wnen  they 
beard  this  assertion,  they  cast  the  remainder  of  the 
whrle  into  the  sea  and  resigned  themselves  to  the 
care  of  God.  Then  the  weather  favored  them  so  that 
they  were  able  to  row  out  to  fish,  and  thereafter  they 
were  not  in  want  of  food,  for  wild  game  was  caught 
on  land  and  fish  in  the  sea,  and  eggs  were  collected  on 
the  island.     *     *     * 

"  It  is  said  that  Thorhall  resolved  to  go  northward 
along  Furdustrandir  to  explore  Vinland,  but  K;:rl3cfne 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


37 


determined  to  sail  southward  along  the  coast.  Thorhall 
fitted  out  his  vessel  under  the  island,  having  not  more 
than  nine  men  to  join  him,  for  all  the  others  went  with 
Karlsefne.  Now  when  Thorhall  carried  water  to  his 
ship,  he  sang  these  verses  : 

'  People  told  me  when  I  came 
Hither,  all  would  be  so  fine  ; 
The  good  Vinland,  known  to  fame, 
Rich  in  fruits  and  choicest  wine ; 
Now  the  water-pail  they  send  ; 
To  the  fountain  I  must  bend, 
Nor  from  out  this  land  divine 
Have  I  quaffed  one  drop  of  wine.' 

"  When  they  were  about  to  depart  and  had  hoisted 
sail,  Thorhall  again  sang  : 

'  Let  our  trusty  band  * 

Haste  to  Fatherland  ; 
Let  our  vessel  brave 
Plough  the  angry  wave, 
While  those  few  who  love 
Vinland,  here  may  rove. 
Or,  with  idle  toil, 
'^-  ■  ■'  Fetid  whales  may  boil. 

Here  on  Furdustrand, 
Far  from  Fatherland.'    *    *    * 

"  It  is  now  to  be  told  of  Karlsefne  that  he  with 
Snorro  and  Bjarni  and  their  people  sailed  southward 
along  the  coast.  They  sailed  a  long  time  until  they 
came  to  a  river,  which  ran  out  from  the  land  and 
through  a  lake  into  the  sea.  The  river  was  quite  shal- 
low, and  no  ship  could  enter  it  without  high  water. 
Karlsefne  sailed  with  his  people  into  its  mouth  and 
called  the  place  H6p  [ok  kolludu  i  Hbpt).^  They 
found  fields  of  wild  wheat  {sjalfsana  hveitiakra)  where 
the  ground  was  low,  and  wine-wood  where  it  was 
higher.  *  *   *   There  was  a  great  number  of  all  kinds 

'  From  hSpa  to  recede.     H6p,  a  recess,  haven,  bay,  inlet. 
Certain  writers  assume  this  place  H6p  to  be  the  country  aroiud  Mount 
Hope  bay,  in  Rhode  Island. 


f. 


38 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


of  wild  animals  in  the  woods.  They  remained  at  this 
place  a  half-month  and  enjoyed  themselves,  but  did  not 
find  any  thing  novel.  They  had  their  cattle  with  them. 
Early  one  morning,  when  they  were  viewing  the 
country,  they  saw  a  great  number  of  skin  boats  on  the 
sea.  *  *  *  yj^g  people  in  them  rowed  nearer 
and  with  curiosity  gazed  at  them.  *  *  *  These 
people  were  swart  [svartir)  and  ugly,  and  had  coarse 
hair,  large  eyes,  and  broad  cheeks.  They  remained  a 
short  time  and  watched  Karlsefne's  people.  They  then 
rowed  away  to  the  southward  beyond  the  cape. 

"  Karlsefne  and  his  people  had  erected  their  dwell- 
ings above  the  lake.  Some  of  the  houses  were  near 
the  water  and  others  were  farther  away.  They  re- 
mained here  during  the  winter.'  There  was  no  snow, 
and  their  cattle  subsisted  on  the  grass." 

It  is  further  related  that  when  spring  drew  near  the 
natives  again  visited  the  Northmen  and  trafficked  with 
them.  "  The  people  preferred  red  cloth,  and  for  this 
they  gave  skins  and  all  kinds  of  furs.  They  also  wanted 
to  purchase  swords  and  spears,  but  Karlsefne  and 
Snorro  would  not  sell  them  any  weapons.  For  a 
whole  skin  the  Skraelings  {Skraelingar)  took  a  piece 
of  red  cloth  a  span  long,  and  bound  it  around  their 
heads.'  In  this  way  they  bartered  for  a  time.  Then 
the  cloth  began  to  diminish,  and  Karlsefne  and  his  men 
cut  it  into  small  strips  not  wider  than  one's  finger,  and 
still  the  Skraelings  gave  as  much  for  these  as  they 
had  for  the  larger  pieces,  and  often  more.  "  It  hap- 
pened that  a  bull,  which  Karlsefne  had  with  him,  ran 
out  from  the  wood  and  bellowed  loudly.  This  frightened 
the  Skraelings  so  much  that  they  rushed  to  their  boats 
and  rowed  a.vay  to  the  southward  around  the  coast." 

'This  statement  does  not  ngree  with  the  one  preceding  it, — that  "  they  re- 
mained nt  this  place  n  half-month," 
'Si<iailiiii;  ir,  in.  I'l    K-qiiinvi.ix. 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


39 


Three  weeks  afterward  a  large  number  of  Skrael- 
ings  returned  in  their  boats  uttering  loud  cries.  "  Karl- 
sefne 's  men  took  a  red  shield  and  held  it  toward 
them.  The  Skraelings  leaped  from  their  boats  and 
attacked  them.  Many  missiles  fell  among  them,  for 
the  Skraelings  used  slings  {valsi6ng7ir).  Karlsefne's 
men  saw  that  they  had  raised  on  a  pole  something 
resembling  an  air-filled  bag  of  a  blue  color.  They 
hurled  this  at  Karlsefne's  party,  and  when  it  fell  to 
the  ground  it  exploded  with  a  loud  noise.  This  fright- 
ened Karlsefne  and  his  men  so  much  that  they  ran 
and  fell  back  to  the  river,  for  it  seemed  to  them  that  the 
Skraelings  were  inclosing  them  on  all  sides.  They  did 
not  stop  until  they  reached  a  rocky  place  where  they 
stoutly  resisted  their  assailants.  Freydis  [the  wife  of 
Thorvard]  came  out,  and  seeing  Karlsefne's  people  re- 
treating, cried  out  •.  '  Why  do  you  run,  stout  men  as 
you  are,  before  these  miserable  wretches,  whom  I 
thought  you  could  knock  down  as  you  do  cattle  !  If  I 
had  weapons  I  know  that  I  could  fight  better  than 
you ! '  They  did  not  heed  her  words.  Freydis  then 
attempted  to  keep  up  with  them  but  could  not.  She 
followed  them  to  the  woods.  The  Skraelings  pursued 
her.  She  found  a  dead  man  in  the  way.  It  was  Thor- 
brand  Snorrason.  A  flat  stone  was  sticking  in  his 
head.  His  sword  was  by  his  side.  She  grasped  it 
and  prepared  to  defend  herself.  The  Skraelings  came 
toward  her.  She  exposed  her  bosom  and  struck 
her  breast  with  the  sword.  The  Skraelings  were 
frightened  and  ran  to  their  boats  and  rowed  away. 
Karlsefne  and  l^s  men  then  came  and  praised  her 
courage.  Karlsefne  lost  two  men  but  the  Skraelings 
many  more.     *     *     * 

"  Karlsefne  and  his  men  now  perceived  that  not- 


I 


I 


40 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


withstanamg  the  country  was  fruitful  they  would  be 
exposed  to  many  dangerous  incursions  of  its  inhabi- 
tants if  they  should  remain  in  it.  They  therefore  de- 
termined to  depart  and  return  to  their  own  land.  They 
sailed  northward  along  the  coast  and  found  five 
Skraelings  clothed  in  skins  sleeping  on  the  sea-shore. 
They  had  with  them  vessels  containing  marrow  mixed 
with  blood.  Karlsefne's  men  believed  that  they  had 
been  banished  from  the  country  and  they  killed  them. 
After  that  they  came  to  a  cape  and  there  were  many 
wild  animals  on  it.  *  *  *  Then  they  reached 
Straum  fjord,  where  there  was  an  abundance  of  every 
thing  which  they  desired.  It  is  said  by  some  that 
Bjarni  and  Gudrid  remained  behind  with  one  hundred 
men,  and  did  not  go  farther,  but  that  Karlsefne  and 
Sriorro  went  southward  and  forty  men  with  them,  and 
that  they  were  not  longer  in  Hop  than  two  months, 
and  that  they  returned  from  there  the  same  summer. 

*  *  *  They  inspected  the  mountains  at  Hop,  which 
they  thought  belonged  to  a  range  which  extended  in 
two  directions  to  the  same  distance  from  Straum 
fjord.     The  third  winter  they  were  in  Straum  fjord. 

*  *  *  Snorro,  the  son  of  Karlsefne,  was  born  here 
the  first  autumn,  and  he  was  three  years  old  when 
they  went  away  from  Vinland.  When  they  sailed  from 
Vinland  they  had  a  south  wind  and  came  to  Mark- 
land."' 

The  Northmen  it  seems  continued  their  visits  to 
Vinland  as  late  as  the  fourteenth  century.  In  the  geo- 
graphical treatise  of  Adam  of  Bremen,  written  in  1073, 
the  author  says  that  it  was  told  him  by  Sveyn  Estrith- 
son.  King  of  Denmark,  that  Vinland  was  an  island  : 
♦*  Moreover  he  said  that  an  island  had  been  discov- 

Antiq.  Amer.   pp.  136-163.    Discovery  of  America.    Beamish,   pp.  87-103. 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


41 


ered  by  many  in  that  ocean,  which  is  called  Vinland, 
because  vines  grow  spontaneously  there,  producing  ex- 
cellent wine.  For  that  fruits  abound  there  not  having 
been  sown,  we  are  assured  not  by  any  vague  rumor 
bui.  by  the  trustworthy  report  of  the  Danes."' 

The  island  of  Vinland  is  described  in  an  old  geo- 
graphical document  as  lying  on  the  opposite  side  of  a 
channel,  between  it  and  Greenland  :  "  Now  is  to  be 
told  what  lies  opposite  Greenland,  out  from  the  bay 
already  mentioned.  Furdustrandir  is  the  name  of  a 
land.  There  are  such  hard  frosts  there  that  it  is  not 
habitable  as  far  as  is  known.  South  of  it  is  Helluland, 
which  is  called  Skraeling's  land.  From  there  it  is  not 
far  to  Vinland  the  good,  which  some  think  goes  out 
from  Africa.  Between  Vinland  and  Greenland  is 
Ginnungagap  which  flows  from  the  sea  called  Mare 
Oceanum  that  encompasses  the  whole  earth."'  On  a 
map  made  by  Sigurd  Stephanius,  an  Icelander,  in  i57o, 
Helluland,  Markland,  Skraeling's  land,  and  the  prom- 
ontory of  Vinland  are  represented  as  parts  of  the 
country  now  called  Greenland.^ 

No  geographical  information  contained  in  the  sagas 
of  Iceland  and  Greenland  verifies  the  statement  that 
the  Northmen  discovered  America  and  explored  the 
coast  of  a  part  of  the  present  territory  of  the  United 

'  "  Praterea  unam  acihuc  iniulam  recitavit  a  multis  in  eo  repertam  oceano, 
qiue  dicitur  Winland,  eo  quod  ibi  viles  sponte  nascantur,  vinum  optimum 
ferentes.  Nam  et  fruges  ibi  non  seminatas  habundare,  non  fabulosa  opinione, 
sed  certa  comperimus  relatione  Danosum" — M.  Adamigesta  Hammenburgensis 
ecclesiae  pontificuni.  Edente  M.  Lappenburg.  I.  U.  D.  Reipublicae  Ham- 
burgensis  tabulario.  Mopumenta  Germanise  historica.  By  George  Henry 
Pertz,    Hannoverae,  1846. 

'  This  fragment  of  a  geographical  or  historical  work  is  supposed  to  have 
been  written  before  the  time  of  Columbus. — Gripla  C.  Antiq.  Amer.  pp.  280, 
281,293,296.     Discovery  of  America.     Beamish,     pp.  114,  115. 

*  The  map  marked  Tab.  ii.  is  contained  in  the  historical  work  entitled : 
Gronlandia  Antiqva,  seu  veteris  Gronlandiae  Descriptio.  *  ♦  *  Authore 
Thormodo  Torfaeo.     Havniae,  1715.    p.  21. 


1 

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1 

V 

4 

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1 

s. 

i 

\ 

• 

\ 

.( 


42 


DISCOVERIES   CF  AMERICA. 


States.  What  tradition  relates  respecting  the  North- 
men finding  wine-berries  in  Vinland  does  not  make  it 
indubitably  evident  that  they  were  the  fruit  now  called 
grapes.'  The  wine-wood  that  was  cut  and  carried  on 
board  of  Leif's  ship  indicates  that  there  was  no  large 
timber  in  Vinland,  and  that  the  trees  that  v/ere  felled 
were  of  a  stunted  growth  as  those  that  are  now  found 
on  the  coast  of  Greenland.  The  statements  respecting 
the  great  number  of  eider  ducks,  the  natives  who  were 
Irightened  by  the  bellowing  of  a  bull,  the  skin -boats 
used  by  them,  the  want  of  food  by  the  Northmen, 
their  eating  the  flesh  of  a  stranded  whale  to  escape 
starvation,  and  the  sarcastic  language  of  the  song  sung 
by  Thorhall  concerning  Vinland  being  a  land  of  wine, 
clearly  establish  the  fact  that  this  country  or  region 
was  very  near  the  Arctic  circle.  Further,  all  the  early 
maps  of  Greenland  show  Helluland,  Markland,  and 
Vinland  to  be  regions  ot  that  country. 

The  questionable  interpretation  of  the  characters 
on  the  rock,  lying  in  the  water,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Taunton  River,  opposite  Dighton,  Massachusetts,  by  a 
number  of  foreign  antiquaries,  is  a  notable  exemplifi- 
cation of  the  fictitious  nati  e  of  the  so-called  evidence 
that  the  Northmen  discovered  America  and  explored 
a  part  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  present  territory  of  the 
United  States.''    The  remarkable  statement  that  the 

'  If  they  were  grapes,  it  does  not  follow  that  they  were  found  on  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  present  territory  of  the  United  States.  The  French  navigator, 
Jacques  Cartier,  in  September,  1535,  found  "vines  laaen  as  full  of  grapes  as 
could  be  all  along  the  riuer  [St.  Lawrence],  which  rather  seemed  to  haue  bin 
planted  by  mans  hand  than  otherwise." — The  third  and  last  volume  of  the 
voyages,  navigations,  trafiiques,  and  discoueries  of  the  English  nation.  By 
Richard  Hakluyt.     London,  1600.     p.  218. 

'The  rock  writing,  as  interpreted  by  an  Indian,  is  an  account  of  a  battle 
fought  by  the  people  of  two  tribes,  and  was  engraved  by  some  or  one  of  the 
members  of  the  victorious  party. — Archives  of  aboriginal  knowledge.  By  Henry 
R.  Schoolcraft,  i860,  vol.  i.  pp.  1 12-124  ;  vol.  iv.  pp.  119.  Antiq.  Amer. 
PP-  373-403- 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


43 


round,  stone-tower,  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  men- 
tioned by  Governor  Benedict  Arnold  in  his  will,  made 
in  1677,  as  "  my  stone-built  windmill,"  was  erected  by 
the  Northmen,  is  also  an  instance  of  the  infatuation  of 
the  learned  men  who  believed  it  to  be  a  Norse  monu- 
ment.' 

The  supposition  that  the  Welsh  adventurer,  Madoc 
Guyneth,  planted  a  colony  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of 
North  America,  in  the  twelfth  century,  rests  on  some 
traditionary  information  in  a  history  of  Wales,  published 
in  1584.'  In  this  rare  work  it  is  related  that  the  sons 
of  Owen  Guyneth,  King  of  North  Wales,  on  the  death 
of  their  father,  had  many  contentions  respecting  the 
heirship  to  his  estates  and  who  should  rule  after  him. 
This  strife  mortified  Madoc.  In  order  to  separate 
himself  from  his  quarrelling  brothers  he  fitted  out  a 
number  of  ships  and  sailed  west,  "  leaving  the  coast  of 
Ireland  so  far  north,  that  he  came  to  an  unknown  land, 
where  he  saw  many  strange  things."  He  then  re- 
turned home  and  gave  an  account  of  the  attractive 
and  fertile  countries  "he  had  seen  without  inhabitants." 
He  induced  a  number  of  men  and  women,  who  desired 
to  live  peaceably,  to  emigrate  to  the  western  land. 
The  second  voyage  was  safely  made  to  the  colony  in 
the  "  fair  and  large  country."     He  returned  again  to 

'  Benedict  Arnold,  the  first  governor  of  Rhode  Island,  living  at  Newport, 
in  his  will,  dated  December  20,  1677,  directed  that  his  body  should  be  buried 
at  a  certain  spot,  "  being  and  lying  in  my  land,  in  or  near  the  line  or  path  from 
my  dwelling-house  leading  to  my  stone-built  windmill,  in  the  town  of  Newport." 
Another  mill  of  similar  construction  is  near  Leamington,  in  the  parish  of  Ches- 
terton, in  Warwickshire,  England,  where  Benedict  Arnold  lived  when  a  boy. 
This  mill  was  built  according  to  a  plan  first  introduced  into  England  by  Inigo 
Jones. — History  of  New  England,  by  John  Gorham  Palfrey.  Boston,  1859. 
vol.  i.     Note.     pp.  57-59. 

'History  of  Wales,  written  by  Caradoc  of  Llancarvan,  Glamorganshire, 
in  the  British  Language,  translated  into  English  by  Humphry  Llwyd,  and  pub- 
lished by  Dr.  David  Powel  in  the  year  1584. 


i 


44 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


z^- 


! 


Wales  for  more  colonists.  Ten  ships  filled  with  emi- 
grants shortly  afterward  set  sail  for  the  new  settlement. 
It  is  further  related  that  many  fctions  were  current 
thereafter  respecting  Madoc's  discoveries  in  the  un- 
named country.'  Meredith  ap  Rhees,  a  Welsh  bard, 
who  died  in  1477,  has  rehearsed  in  a  number  of  verses 
a  part  of  the  unsatisfactory  tradition  co'.cerning  Ma- 
doc's voyage.'  As  said  by  Baron  von  Humboldt : 
"  The  deepest  obscurity  still  shrouds  every  thing  con- 
nected with  the  voyage  of  the  Gaelic  chief,  Madoc."^ 

The  story  of  a  Frisland  fisherman,  in  the  history  of 
the  discoveries  of  the  Zeni  brothers,  published  in  i558, 
is  thought  by  some  writers  to  be  a  true  narrative  of 
this  man's  adventures  on  a  part  of  the  continent  of 
America,  in  the  fourteenth  century.*  It  is  related  tliat 
Nicolo  Zeno,  a  wealthy  man,  had  a  ship  built,  equipped, 

'  "  The  most  ancient  Discouery  of  '.he  West  Indies  by  Madoc,  the  sonne  of 
Owen  Guyi.eth  Prince  of  North-wales,  in  the  yeere  1170  ;  taken  out  of  the  his- 
tory of  Wales,  lately  published  by  M.  Dauid  Powel  Doctor  of  Diuinity.  *  *  * 
Madoc  another  of  Owen  Guyneth  his  sonnes  left  the  land  in  contention  be- 
twixt his  brethren,  &  prepared  certaine  ships  with  men  and  munition,  and  sought 
aduentures  by  Seas,  sailing  West,  and  leaning  the  coast  of  Ireland  so  farre 
North,  that  he  came  vnto  a  land  vnknowen,  where  he  saw  many  strange 
things.    *    *    * 

"  Of  the  voyage  and  returne  of  this  Madoc  there  are  many  fables  faiijed, 
as  the  common  people  doe  vse  in  distance  of  place  and  length  of  time  rather  to 
augment  then  to  diminish  :  but  sure  it  is  there  he  was.  And  after  he  had  re- 
turned home,  and  declared  the  pleasant  and  fruitfull  countreys  that  he  had 
seene  without  inhabitants,  and  vpon  the  contrary  part,  for  what  barren  &  wild 
ground  his  brethren  and  nephewes  did  murthef  one  another,  he  prepared  a 
number  of  ships,  and  got  with  him  such  men  and  women  as  were  desirous  to 
liue  in  quietnesse  :  and  taking  leaue  of  his  friends,  tooke  his  journey  thither- 
ward againe.  *  *  *  1  his  Madoc  arriving  in  that  Western  country,  vnto  his 
people  there,  and  returning  back  for  more  of  his  owne  nation,  acquaintance,  & 
friends  to  inhabit  that  faire  &  large  countrey,  went  thither  again  with  ten  sai](>s, 
as  I  find  noted  by  Gutyn  Owen." — Hakluyt.  vol.  iii.  p.  i. 

•  Hakluyt.     vol.  iii.  p.  I. 

'  Kosmos  :  Entwurf  einer  physischen  Weltbeschreibung.  Alexander  von 
Humboldt.  1845-1858.  Trans,  by  E.  C.  Ott^.  Bohn's  ed.  vol.  ii.  pp. 
608,  609. 

*  The  history  of  the  voyages  of  the  Zeni  brothers  was  first  published  with 
another  work  entitled  :  Dei  Commentarij  del  Viaggio  in  Persia.    Venezia,  1558. 


t," 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


45 


and  manned  at  his  own  expense,  and  sailed  in  it  from 
Venice,  "  with  the  intention  of  visiting  England  and 
Flanders."  But  in  a  storm  his  vessel  was  cast  upon  an 
island  called  Frisland. '  "  The  crew  were  saved  to- 
gether with  most  of  the  ship's  cargo.  This  occurred 
in  the  year  1 380.  The  inhabitants  of  the  island,  having 
collected  in  considerable  numbers,  attacked  the  cheva- 
lier and  his  men,  who,  being  exhausted  by  the  hard- 
ships they  had  endured,  and  not  knowing  in  what  part 
of  the  world  they  had  been  thrown,  were  unable  to 
resist  them,  much  less  to  defend  themselves  with  the 
spirit  that  the  emergency  demanded.  They  would 
have  been  treated,  without  doubt,  in  a  most  barbarous 
manner,  had  it  not  fortunately  happened  that  a  power- 
ful chieftain,  with  an  armed  force,  was  in  their  neigh- 
borhood, who,  learning  that  a  large  ship  had  been  cast 
upon  ihe  island,  and  hearing  the  noise  and  shouts  of 
the  inhabitants  as  they  rushed  upon  our  poor  mariners, 
hastened  forward,  and  putting  the  islanders  to  flight, 
inquired  of  the  Venetians,  in  Latin,  of  what  nation  they 
were,  and  whence  they  had  come.  When  informed 
that  they  were  from  Italy,  and  natives  of  that  country, 
he  was  filled  with  joy  and  amazement.  *  *  *  j^g 
was  a  great  lord  and  possessed  certain  islands  called 
Porland,  about  a  half-day's  sail  from  Frisland,  the 
richest  and  most  populous  of  all  the  islands  of  those 
parts.     This  chieftain's  name  was  Zichmni." 

Nicold  Zeno  then  entered  the  service  of  this  dis- 
tinguished man.  Some  time  afterward  he  wrote  to  his 
brother  Antonio,  and  related  these  incidents.  The 
latter  visited  Frisland,  where  he  lived  fourteen  years. 
On  the  death  of  Nicolo,  which  occurcd  four  years 

'  The  name  is  evidently  a  designation  for  Iceland,  frislanda,  the  cold  or 
frozen  land  ;  Anglo-Saxon," /ryjaw  /  Icelandic,  ftiosaj  Swedish,  frysa;  Danish, 
fryse  j  and  la.td,  land. 


l\ 


L 


46 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


il 


after  Antonio's  arrival,  he  was  appointed  to  take  com- 
mand of  Zichmni's  fleet.  From  letters  written  by 
Antonio  to  his  brother  Carlo,  the  lemarkable  particu- 
lars of  the  following  narrative  are  said  to  have  been 
compiled  : 

•'  Six  and  twenty  years  ago  four  fishing-boats  put 
out  to  sea  from  Frisland,  and  being  overtaken  by  a 
storm  were  drifted  about  for  many  days  in  a  helpless 
condition.  When,  li.  last,  the  tempest  abated,  they 
descried  an  island  called  Estotiland,"  lying  more  than 
a  thousand  miles  westward  from  Frisland.  One  of 
the  boats  was  cast  upon  its  coast,  and  the  six  men 
in  it  were  taken  by  the  inhabitants  and  conducted  to  a 
fair  and  populous  city,  where  the  king  sent  for  many 
interpreters,  but  none  could  be  found  who  understood 
the  language  of  the  fishermen  except  one  man  who 
spoke  Latin,  and  who  likewise  had  been  cast  by  acci- 
dent upon  the  same  island.  Ordered  by  the  king,  he 
asked  them  who  they  were,  and  where  they  came  from, 
and  when  he  reported  their  answer,  the  king  desired 
that  they  should  remain  in  that  country.  Accordingly, 
as  they  could  not  do  otherwise,  they  obeyed  his  order, 
and  remained  five  years  on  the  island,  and  learned  the 
language.  One  of  them  in  particular  visited  different 
parts  of  the  island,  and  reports  that  it  is  a  very  rich 
country,  abounding  in  all  good  things.  It  is  a  little 
smaller  than  Iceland  but  more  fertile.  In  the  middle 
of  it  is  a  very  high  mountain,  in  which  rise  four  rivers 
which  water  the  whole  country. 

"  The  inhabitants  are  a  very  intelligent  people  and 
possess  all  the  arts  as  we  do  ;  and  it  is  believed  that 
in  time  past  they  have  had  intercourse  with  our  people, 
for  he  said   that  he  saw  Latin  books  in  the   king's 

Estotiland  seems  to  be  an  anomalous  form  of  the  name  Scotland,  from 
Anglo-Saxon,  scot  y  Spanish  and  Portuguese,  escote  ;  Italian,  scotto. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


47 


library,  which  they  at  the  present  time  do  not  under- 
stand. They  have  their  own  language  and  letters. 
They  have  all  kinds  of  metals,  especially  gold.  Their 
foreign  intercourse  is  with  Greenland,  where  they 
import  furs,  brimstone,  and  pitch.  He  says  that  toward 
the  south  there  is  a  great  and  populous  country,  very 
rich  in  gold.  They  sow  corn  and  make  beer,  which  is 
a  kind  of  drink  which  northern  people  take  as  we  do 
wine.  They  have  woods  of  vast  extent.  They  con- 
struct their  buildings  with  walls,  and  there  are  many 
towns  and  villages.  They  make  small  boats  and  sail 
them,  but  they  have  not  the  loadstone,  nor  do  they 
know  the  north  by  the  compass.  For  this  reason  these 
fishermen  were  held  in  great  esteem,  insomuch  that 
the  king  sent  them  with  twelve  boats  to  the  southward 
to  a  country  which  they  call  Drogio ;  but  in  their 
voyage  they  had  such  stormy  weather  that  they  were 
in  fear  foi  themselves.  Although  they  escaped  a  mis- 
erable death  they  afterward  met  a  more  painful  one, 
for  they  were  taken  into  the  country  and  the  greater 
number  of  them  were  eaten  by  the  savages,  who  are 
cannibals  and  consider  human  flesh  very  savory  meat. 
But  as  this"  fisherman  and  his  remaining  companions 
were  able  to  show  them  the  way  to  catch  fish  with 
nets,  their  lives  were  spared.  Every  day  he  would  go 
fishiii;:  in  the  sea  and  in  the  fresh  waters,  and  take  a 
great  number  of  fish,  which  he  gave  to  the  chief'',  and 
thereby  ingratiated  himself  so  much  into  the*/  favor 
that  he  was  greatly  liked  and  held  in  high  esteem 
by  all. 

"  As  this  man's  fame  spread  among  the  different 
tribes,  there  was  a  neighboring  chief  who  was  very 
anxious  to  have  him  with  him  and  to  see  how  he  prac- 
tised his   wonderful  art  of  catching  fish.     With  this 


r 


I 


48 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


object  in  view  he  made  war  on  the  other  chief  with 
whom  the  fisherman  was,  and  being  more  powerful 
and  a  better  warrior,  he,  at  last,  overcame  him,  and  so 
the  fisherman  was  sent  to  him  with  the  rest  of  his 
companions.  During  the  space  of  thirteen  years  that 
he  dwelt  in  those  parts,  he  says,  he  was  sent  in  this 
manner  to  more  than  five-and-twenty  chiefs,  for  they 
were  continually  fighting  among  themselves,  this  chief 
with  that  one,  and  solely  for  the  purpose  of  having  the 
fisherman  to  dwell  with  them,  so  that  wandering  up 
and  down  the  country  without  any  fixed  abode,  he  be- 
came acquainted  with  almost  all  those  regions.  He 
says  that  it  is  a  very  great  country,  and,  as  it  were,  a 
new  world.  The  people  are  very  rude  and  unculti- 
vated, for  they  all  go  naked,  and  suffer  bitterly  from 
the  cold,  nor  have  they  the  sense  to  clothe  themselves 
with  skins  of  the  animals  which  they  take  in  hunting. 
They  have  no  kind  of  metal.  They  live  by  hunting, 
and  carry  lances  of  wood,  sharpened  at  the  point. 
They  ave  bows,  the  strings  of  which  are  made  of 
beasts'  skins.  They  are  very  fierce,  and  have  deadly 
wars  with  one  another,  and  eat  the  flesh  of  their  cap- 
tives. They  have  chiefs  and  certain  laws,  but  differing 
in  different  tribes.  The  farther  you  go  southwestward, 
hov/ever,  the  more  refinement  you  meet  with,  because 
the  climate  is  more  temperate,  but  there  they  have 
cities  and  temples  dedicated  to  their  idols,  in  which 
they  sacrifice  men  and  afterward  eat  them.  In  those 
parts  they  have  some  knowledge  and  use  of  gold  and 
silver. 

"  This  fisherman  after  dwelling  so  many  years  in 
those  parts  resolved  to  return  home  if  possible  to  his 
own  country,  but  his  companions,  despairing  of  ever 
seeing  it  again,  gave  him  Godspeed,  and  remained 
where  they  were.     Accordingly  he  bade  them  farewell 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


49 


and  made  his  escape  through  the  woods  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Drogio,  where  he  was  welcomed  and  kindly 
received  by  the  chief  of  the  place,  who  knew  him  and 
was  a  great  enemy  of  the  neighboring  chief.  Thus 
passing  from  one  chief  to  another,  being  the  same  with 
whom  he  had  been  before,  he,  at  last,  reached,  after 
a  long  time  and  many  hardships,  Drogio,  where  he 
remained  three  years.  Here  by  good  fortune  he 
learned  from  the  natives  that  some  boats  had  ap- 
peared off  the  coast,  and  hopeful  of  being  able  to  carry 
out  his  intention,  he  went  to  the  beach,  and  found  to 
his  great  delight  that  the  men  on  board  the  boats  had 
come  from  Estotiland.  He  immediately  begged  them 
to  take  him  back  with  them,  which  they  willingly  con- 
sented to  do.  He  understood  the  language  of  the 
country  which  none  of  them  could  speak,  and  they 
employed  him  as  an  interpreter.  Afterward  he  traded 
in  company  with  them  to  such  good  purpose  that  he 
became  very  rich,  and  having  fitted  out  a  vessel  of  his 
own  he  returned  to  Frisland."' 

When  Zichmni  heard  the  story  of  the  returned 
fisherman,  it  is  said  that  he  prepared  a  fleet  to  go  to 
the  countries  described  by  him.  The  fisherman  dying 
about  the  time  that  the  vessels  were  ready  to  sail, 
some  of  the  seamen  who  had  come  from  Estotiland  in 
his  ship  were  taken  to  pilot  them.  An  island  called 
Icaria  was  discovered,  but  no  exploration  of  it  could 
be  made  on  account  of  the  hostility  of  its  inhabitants. 
The  fleet  afterward  proceeded  to  the  coast  of  Green- 
land, from  which  it  sailed  to  Frisland. 

'  Dello  Scoprimento  dell  'Isole  Frislanda,  Eslanda,  Engronelanda,  Estoti- 
landa,  &  Icaria,  fatto  per  due  fratelli  Zeni,  M,  Nicol6  il  Caualiere,  &  M.  An- 
tonio.    Libro  Vno,  col  disegno  di  dette  Isole. 

The  Voyages  of  the  Venetian  Brothers,  Nicol6  and  Antonio  Zeno  to  the 
Northern  Seas.  By  Richard  Henry  Major.  London,  1873.  Hakluyt  Soc. 
pnb,    pp.  1-24. 


t  >x  I 

4 


r 


» 


I 


M 


i 


: 


i 


I 


' 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


The  compiler  of  the  history  of  the  discoveries  of 
the  Zeni  brothers  says  :  "  This  discovery  [made  by 
the  Frisland  fisherman]  Messere  Antonio,  in  a  letter  to 
his  brother  Messere  Carlo,  related,  *  *  *  saying 
that  we  have  changed  some  old  words  and  the  anti- 
quated style,  but  have  left  the  substance  entire.  *  * 
*  Of  these  northern  places,  I  [the  compiler]  have 
thought  it  good  to  draw  a  copy  of  the  sailing  chart, 
which  I  find  I  have  among  our  family  heirlooms,  and, 
although  it  is  rotten  with  age,  I  have  succeeded  with 
it  tolerably  well ;  and  to  those  who  take  pleasure  in 
such  things,  it  will  serve  to  throw  light  on  the  compre- 
hension of  that  which  without  it  could  not  be  under- 
stood so  easily." 

Inasmuch  as  it  is  difficult  to  disprove  that  the 
names  Frislanda,  Engronelanda,  and  Estotilanda  were 
not  early  designations  for  Iceland,  Greenland,  and  Scot- 
land, the  supposition  that  the  unnamed  Frisland  fisher- 
man passed  thirteen  years  of  his  life  on  the  continent 
cf  America  solely  rests  upon  the  particulars  of  the 
story  of  his  famous  adventures  as  a  maker  of  fishing- 
nets.  ^/ ,'■;?■  ^  :':■'■'-;.■  •':■:■;;■  /'''<^-\:^::..,>:':'--,,,X::/:^^ 


I 


i  1'' 

!    1 


CHAPTER   II. 


. -•..';^:'J:''^'''\v  .-'  1295-1487.  ;/.-■,- :;;-^^- 

In  the  opulent  and  insular  city  of  Venice,  there 
arrived,  a  few  years  before  the  close  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  three  strangely  clad  sun-embrowned  men.  If 
any  notice  had  been  taken  of  them  when  they  disem- 
barked from  the  Mediterranean  galley  in  which  they 
had  come  from  Negropont,  this  attention  had,  it  is 
likely,  been  bestowed  upon  their  odd  garb  and  imper- 
fect pronunciation  of  the  Italian  words  which  they  used 
while  obtaining  a  boatman  to  convey  them  to  that  part 
of  the  city  known  as  the  confine  of  S.  Giovanni 
Crisostomo. 

The  unique  story  respecting  the  return  of  these 
famous  travellers  to  Venice  will  always  be  deemed, 
the  prologue  that  introduces  the  notable  acts  of  the 
cplorers  of  the  Atlantic  coast  territory  of  America 
in  the  fifteenth  century.  It  is  therefore  properly  enti- 
tled to  a  conspicuous  place  on  the  first  pages  of  the 
history  of  the  discovery  of  America.  Five  centuries 
ago  it  charmed  the  Venetians  with  its  vivid  colorings, 
and  gave  to  the  Orient  an  entrancing  vision  that  made 
the  name  of  Cathay  for  a  time  a  synonym  for  an  earthly 
paradise.  It  pictured  to  them  a  far-off  El  Dorado, 
abounding  with  gold,  gems,  and  spicery,  a  country 
naturally  delightful  and  artificially  magnificent.  Amer- 
ica lay  in  some  of  the  navigable  ways  which  were 
sought  by  acquisitive  Europeans  to  go  to  it,  and  thus 

51 


;     f 


i 


i:^i 


52 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


the  return  of  Nicolo,  Maffeo,  and  Marco  Polo,  in  1295, 
to  Venice,  after  an  absence  of  twenty-four  years,  is 
inseparably  linked  to  the  great  chain  of  events  con- 
necting it  with  the  discovery  of  the  new  continent  of 
the  western  hemisphere.'  Ramusio,  the  distinguished 
Italian  collector  of  information  relating  to  voyages  and 
travels,  has  preserved  the  account  of  the  strange 
revelations  made  by  the  three  travellers  on  their 
return  from  Cathay.'       ;        ^  ^;;     .;    r    : :.  fc  .  1 

"  When  they  arrived  here  the  same  fate  befell  them 
which  happened  to  Ulysses,  who,  when  he  returned 
after  his  twenty  years'  wanderings  to  his  native  Ithaca, 
was  recognized  by  none  of  his  people.  In  like  manner 
these  three  gentlemen,  who  had  been  absent  so  many 
years  from  their  native  city,  were  not  identified  by  any 
of  their  kinsfolk,  who  believed  that  they  had  been  dead 
for  many  years,  as  had  been  reported.  They  were 
quite  changed  in  appearance  by  the  prolongation  and 
hardships  of  their  journeys  and  by  the  trouble  and 
anxieties  they  had  experienced  ;  and  they  had  a  certain 
indescribable  smack  of  the  Tartar  both  in  demeanor 
and  accent,  having  indeed  almost  forgotten  their  Ve- 
netian tongue.  Their  clothes,  too,  were  coarse  and 
shabby,  and  of  a  Tartar  cut.  They  proceeded  on  their 
arrival  to  their  house,  in  this  city,  in  the  confine  of  S. 

'  In  1260,  the  two  brothers,  Nico16  and  Maffeo  Polo,  departed  from  Con- 
stantinople, on  a  trading  expedition  to  the  Euxine  Sea  ;  thence  they  travelled 
through  the  western  dominions  of  the  Grand  Khan  of  the  Tartars,  In  I26g 
they  returned  home  with  letters  from  this  sovereign  to  Pope  Clement  IV.  On 
their  arrival  in  Venice,  N;col6  found  that  his  wife  had  died  in  giving  birth  to 
his  son,  Marco,  then  a  lad  of  fifteen  years.  In  1271  the  brothers  (Maffeo 
being  a  bachelor)  again  left  home  for  the  Orient,  taking  Marco  with  them. 
In  1295  the  thrf 'i  returned  to  Venice  after  an  absence  of  twenty-four  years. 

'  Giovanni  Battista  Ramusio  was  born  at  Tevisa  in  1485.  For  a  decade  of 
years  he  was  secretary  to  the  Venetian  Council  of  Ten.  His  valuable  collection 
of  voyages  and  travels,  entitled  "  Raccolta  di  Navigationi  e  Vi  ggi,"  comprises 
three  volumes.  Volume  I.  was  published  in  1554,  volume  II.  in  1559,  and 
volume  III.  in  1256.    Ramusio  died  in  1557. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


53 


Giovanni  Crisostomo,  where  you  may  see  it  to  this 
day.  The  house,  which  in  those  days  was  a  lofty  and 
handsome  palace,  is  now  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Court  of  the  Millions,  for  a  reason  which  I  will  tell  you 
presently. 

"  When  they  reached  the  palace,  they  found  it  oc- 
cupied by  some  of  their  relatives,  and  they  had  the 
uvmost  difficulty  in  making  the  latter  understand  who 
they  were.  For  these  good  people  seeing  them  to  be 
in  appearance  so  unlike  what  they  were  formerly,  and 
in  dress  so  shabby,  flatly  refused  to  believe  that  they 
were  those  very  gentlemen  of  the  Polo  family  whom 
they  thought  had  been  dead  many  years.  So  these 
three  gentlemen, — this  is  a  story  I  have  often  heard 
when  I  was  a  boy  from  the  illustrious  Messere  Gasparo 
Malpiero,  a  gentleman  of  very  great  age  and  a  sena- 
tor of  eminent  virtue  and  integrity,  whose  house  was 
on  the  canal  of  Santa  Marianna,  at  the  corner,  over  the 
mouth  of  the  brook  of  S.  Giovanni  Crisostomo,  and 
just  midway  among  the  buildings  of  the  aforesaid  Court 
of  the  Millions,  and  he  said  he  had  heard  the  story  from 
his  own  father  and  grandfather,  and  from  other  old 
men  amo  ig  the  neighbors, — the  three  gentlemen,  I  say, 
devised  a  scheme  by  which  they  should  obtain  at  once 
from  their  kinsfolk  the  recognition  they  desired,  and 
secure  the  honorable  notice  of  the  whole  city  ;  and  this 
vas  it  :  ; 

"  They  invited  a  number  of  their  kindred  to  an 
entertainment,  which  they  purposely  prepared  with 
great  state  and  splendor  in  their  house.  When  the 
hour  arrived  for  sitting  dov/n  to  table  all  three  came 
from  their  chambers  clothed  in  crimson  satin,  fashioned 
in  long  robes  reaching  to  the  ground,  such  as  people  in 
those  days  wore  within  doors.    And  when  water  for 


r 


54 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


h; 


the  hands  had  been  served,  and  the  guests  were  seated, 
they  took  off  these  robes  and  put  on  others  of  crimson 
damask,  while  the  first  suits  were  by  their  orders  cut 
and  divided  among  the  servants.  Then  after  partaking 
of  some  of  the  dishes  they  went  out  again  and  came 
back  in  robes  of  crimson  velvet,  and  when  they  had 
again  taken  their  seats,  the  second  suits  were  divided 
as  the  first.  When  dinner  was  over  they  did  the  like 
with  the  robes  of  velvet,  after  they  had  put  on  dresses 
of  the  ordinary  fashion  worn  by  their  guests.  These 
proceedings  caused  much  wonder  and  amazement 
among  their  relatives.  But  when  the  cloth  had  been 
drawn,  and  all  the  servants  had  been  ordered  to  retire 
from  the  dining-hall,  Messere  Marco,  the  youngest  of 
the  three,  rose  from  the  table,  and  going  into  another 
chamber  brought  forth  the  three  shabby  dresses  of 
coarse  stuff  which  they  had  worn  when  they  first  ar 
rived.  Straightway  they  took  sharp  knives  and  began 
to  rip  open  some  of  the  seams  and  welts,  and  to  take 
out  of  them  many  gems  of  the  greatest  value,  such  as 
rubies,  sapphires,  carbuncles,  diamonds,  and  emeralds, 
all  of  which  had  been  stitched  up  in  these  dresses  in 
a  manner  so  artful  that  nobody  could  have  suspected 
the  fact.  For  when  they  took  leave  of  the  Grand  Khan 
they  changed  all  the  wealth  which  he  had  bestowed 
upon  them  for  these  rubies,  emeralds,  and  other  gems, 
being  well  aware  of  the  impossibility  of  carrying  with 
them  so  great  an  amount  of  gold  on  a  journey  so  long 
and  so  difficult. 

"  Now  the  exhibition  of  this  large  number  of  gems 
and  precious  stones,  all  scattered  over  the  table,  threw 
the  guests  into  fresh  amazement,  insomuch  that  they 
seemed  quite  bewildered  and  speechless.  They  now 
saw  that  in  spite  of  all  their  former  doubts  these  were 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


55 


really  the  honored  and  worthy  gentlemen  of  the  Polo 
family  as  they  had  claimed  to  be,  and  they  therefore 
paid  them  the  greatest  honor  and  reverence.  And 
when  the  story  became  current  in  Venice,  straightway 
the  whole  city,  gentle  and  simple,  flocked  to  the  house 
to  embrace  them,  and  to  make  much  of  them,  with 
every  conceivable  demonstration  of  affection  and  re- 
spect. 

"  On  Messere  Maffeo,  who  was  the  eldest,  the 
Venetians  conferred  the  honors  of  an  office  which  was 
of  great  dignity  in  those  days  ;  while  the  young  men 
came  daily  to  visit  and  converse  with  the  ever-polite 
and  gracious  Messere  Marco,  and  to  ask  him  questions 
about  Cathay'  and  the  Grand  Khan,  all  of  which  he 
answered  with  such  kindly  courtesy  that  every  man  felt 
himself  in  a  manner  his  debtor.  And  as  it  happened 
that  in  the  story,  which  he  was  constantly  called  on  to 
repeat,  of  the  magnificence  of  the  Grand  Khan,  he 
would  speak  of  his  revenues  as  amounting  to  ten  or 
fifteen  millions  of  gold  ;  and  in  like  manner,  when 
recounting  other  instances  of  great  wealth  in  those 
parts,  he  would  always  make  use  of  the  term  millions, 
so  they  gave  him  the  nickname  of  Messere  Marco 
Millioni,  an  appellation  which  I  have  seen  in  the  public 
records  of  this  republic  where  mention  is  made  of  him. 
The  court  of  his  house,  in  the  confine  of  S.  Giovanni 
Crisostomo,  has  always  from  that  time  been  known  as 
the  Corte  del  Millioni." » 

'  China.  "  For  about  three  centuries,"  says  Yule,  "  the  Northern  provinces 
of  China  had  been  detached  from  native  rule,  and  subject  to  foreign  dynasties ; 
first  to  the  Khitau,  a  people  from  the  basin  of  the  Sungari  River,  and  supposed 
(but  doubtfully)  to  have  been  akin  to  the  'Funguses,  whose  rule  subsisted  for  200 
years,  and  originated  the  name  Khilai,  Khata,  or  Cathay,  by  which  for  nearly 
1000  years  China  has  been  known  to  the  nations  of  Inner  Asia,  and  to  those 
whose  acquaintance  with  it  was  got  by  that  channel." — The  book  of  Set  Marco 
Polo.    By  Henry  Yule.     London,  1875.     Introd.  p.  11. 

*  Ramusio  :   Raccolta  di  navigationi  e  viaggi,     vol.  it.     Prefatione. 


* 
. 


56 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


These  conversational  descriptions  respecting  the 
remote  dominions  of  the  Grand  Khan,  with  which 
Marco  Polo  often  Interested  the  imaginative  Venetians, 
were  to  have  a  much  wider  field  of  influence  in 
another  form, — one  which  was  a  most  potent  element 
among  the  leading  agencies  which  opened  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Western  Europe  great  pathways  of  discovery 
and  of  commerce  around  the  earth.  In  order  to  per- 
ceive how  these  descriptions  of  Cathay  led  to  the  ex- 
ploration of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  discovery  of  the 
continent  of  America,  the  fortunes  of  Marco  Polo  must 
be  followed  farther.  It  appears  that  shortly  after  his 
return  to  Venice  he  was  placed  in  command  of  a  fleet, 
which  subsequently  was  captured  by  the  Genoese  in  a 
naval  engagement.  While  confined  in  Genoa  as  a 
prisoner  of  war,  his  remarkable  adventures  as  an 
explorer  of  remote  eastern  countries  became  known, 
and  he  was  often  visited  and  questioned  by  inquisitive 
people.  Wearied  by  the  frequent  repetition  of  the  story 
of  his  wanderings  in  Cathay,  he  at  last  applied  himself 
to  writing  an  account  of  his  extensive  journeys  by  the 
aid  of  such  notes  and  memoranda  as  he  had  taken  while 
in  the  East.  Assisted  by  a  Genoese  gentleman,  he 
completed  his  curious  and  instructive  narrative,  which 
was  soon  copied,  translated  into  different  languages, 
and  distributed  among  the  people  of  Europe.' 

'  Concerning  Marco  Polo,  Humboldt  remarks:  "  Jacquet,  who  was  un- 
happily too  early  removed  by  a  premature  death  from  the  investigation  of 
Asiatic  languages,  and  who,  like  Klaproth  and  myself,  was  long  occupied 
with  the  work  of  the  great  Venetian  traveller,  wrote  to  me,  as  follows,  shortly 
before  his  decease  :  '  I  am  as  much  struck  as  yourself  by  the  composition  of  the 
Milione,  It  is  undoubtedly  founded  on  the  direct  and  personal  observation  of 
the  traveller,  but  he  probably  also  made  use  of  documents  either  ofScially  or 
privately  communicated  to  him.  Many  things  appear  to  have  been  borrowed 
from  Chinese  and  Mongolian  works,  although  it  is  difficult  to  determine  their 
precise  influence  on  the  composition  of  the  Milione  ;  owing  to  the  successive 
translations  from  which  Polo  took  his  extracts.    Whilst  our  modem  travellers 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


57 


As  justly  clximed  by  Yule,  Marco  Polo  was  the 
first  traveller  "  to  trace  a  route  a'^'-oss  the  longitude 
of  Asia,  naming  and  describing  kingdom  after  king- 
dom which  he  had  seen  with  his  own  eyes  ;  the  des- 
erts of  Persia,  the  flowering  plateaux  and  wild  gorges 
of  Badakhshan,  the  jade-bearing  rivers  of  Khotan,  the 
Mongolian  steppes,  *  *  *  xh^  ^ew  and  brilliant 
court  that  had  been  established  at  Cambaluc  ;  the  first 
traveller  to  reveal  China  in  all  its  wealth  and  vastness, 
its  mighty  rivers,  its  huge  cities,  its  rich  manufactures, 
its  swarming  population,  the  inconceivably  vast  fleets 
that  quickened  its  seas  and  its  inland  waters ;  to  tell  us 
of  the  nations  on  its  borders  with  all  their  eccentricities 
of  manners  and  worship  ;  of  Tibet  with  its  sordid 
devotees  ;  of  Burma,  with  its  golden  pagodas  and  their 
tinkling  crowns ;  of  Laos,  of  Siam,  of  Cochin  China, 
of  Japan,  the  Eastern  Thule,  with  its  rosy  pearls  and 
golden-roofed  palaces  ;  the  first  to  speak  of  that  mu- 
seum of  beauty  and  wonder,  still  so  imperfectly  ran- 
sacked, the  Indian  archipelago,  source  of  aromatics 
then  so  highly  prized  and  whose  origin  was  so  dark ; 
of  Java,  the  pearl  of  islands  ;  of  Sumatra  with  its  many 
kings,  its  strange  costly  products,  and  its  cannibal 
races  ;  of  the  naked  savages  of  Nicobar  and  Andaman  ; 
of  Ceylon,  the  isle  of  gems,  with  its  sacred  mountain 
and  its  tomb  of  Adam  ;  of  India  the  great,  not  as  a 
dreamland  of  Alexandrian  fables  but  as  a  country  seen 
and  partially  explored,  with   its  virtuous    Brahmans, 

are  only  too  well  pleased  to  occupy  their  readers  with  their  personal  adventures, 
Marco  Polo  takes  pains  to  blend  his  own  observations  with  the  official  data  com- 
municated to  him,  of  which,  as  Governor  of  the  city  of  Yangui,  he  was  able  to 
have  a  large  number.'  (See  my  Asie  CentraU,  t.  ii.  p.  395.)  The  compiling 
method  of  the  celebrated  traveller  likewise  explains  the  possibility  of  his  being 
able  to  dictate  his  book  at  Genoa,  in  1295,  to  his  fellow-prist  ner  and  friend, 
Messer  Ruslizielo  of  Pisa,  as  if  the  documents  had  been  lying  before  him. 
(Compare  Marsden,  Travels  of  Marco  Polo,  p.  xxxiii)."  Humboldt :  Cosmos. 
Otto's  trans,  vol,  ii.  p.  625.  Note. 


58 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


(S 


I 


I  :■ 


It! 


its  obscene  ascetics,  its  diamonds  and  tlie  strange  tales 
of  tlieir  acquisition,  its  sea-beds  of  pearl,  and  its  power- 
ful sun  ;  the  first  in  medieval  times  to  giv  any  dis- 
tinct account  of  the  secluded  Christian  empire  of 
Abyssinia  and  the  semi -Christian  island  of  Socotra  ;  to 
speak,  though  indeed  dimly,  of  Zanzibar  with  its  negroes 
and  its  ivory,  and  of  the  vast  and  distant  Madagascar, 
bordering  on  the  dark  ocean  of  the  South,  with  its  rue 
and  other  monstrocities  ;  and,  in  a  remotely  oppo- 
site region,  of  Siberia  and  the  Arctic  Ocean,  of  dog- 
sledges,  white  bears,  and  reindeer-riding  Tunguses."  ' 

Never  before  had  the  people  of  Europe  heard  of 
such  extraordinary  wealth  and  unlimited  resources  as 
existed  in  the  far-off  countries  visited  by  Marco  Polo. 
His  novel  descriptions  of  stately,  gold-covered  palaces, 
of  the  royal  magnificence  of  the  entertainments  of  the 
Grand  Khan,  of  the  intoxicating  fragrance  of  an  endless 
profusion  of  rare  flowers,  of  luscious  fruits  and  sweet 
spicery,  of  heavily  laden  argosies  of  valuable  merchan- 
dise floating  on  noble  rivers,  and  of  vast  collections  of 
gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones,  were  read  with  the 
most  exaggerated  conceptions  of  their  reality.  These 
enchanting  details  respecting  Cathay  and  the  adjacent 
countries  were  fully  confirmed  in  the  fourteenth  century 
by  Sir  John  Mandeville,  who,  in  1322,  departed  from 
England,  and  after  an  absence  of  thirty- four  years  'n 
different  countries  returned  to  write,  in  Latin,  in  French, 
and  in  English,  a  narrative  of  his  extended  travels." 

'  Ser  Marco  Polo.     Yule.     Second  ed.  vol.  i.  pp.  103,  104. 

'  "  I  John  Maundevylle,  knight,  alle  be  it  I  be  not  worthi,  that  was  born  in 
England,  in  the  Town  of  Seynt  Albones,  passed  the  See,  in  the  zeer  of  our  Lord 
Jesu  Crist  mcccxxii,  in  the  Day  of  Seynt  Michelle  ;  and  hidre  to  have  ben 
long  tyme  over  the  i^-wC,  and  have  seyn  and  gon  thorghe  manye  dyverse  Londes, 
and  many  Provynces  and  Kingdomes  and  lies,  and  have  passed  thorghe  Tar- 
tarye,  Percye,  Ermonye,  the  litylle  and  the  grete  ;  thorghe  Lybye,  Caldee, 
and  a  gret  partie  of  Ethiope ;  thorghe  Amazoyne,  Inde  the  lasse  and 
the  more,    a    gKt    partie ;    and   thorghe    out    many  othere    lies,    that   ben 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


59 


Dazzled  by  the  splendor  of  the  Orient  the  people 
of  Western  Europe  were  eager  to  enter  into  commercial 
intercourse  with  the  inhabitants  of  Cathay.  But  there 
were  innumerable  barriers,  both  natural  and  political, 
obstructing  all  the  overland  ways  to  the  East.  Chief 
among  the  obstacles  classed  as  political  was  the  selfish 
exclusiveness  of  the  different  governments  possessing 
the  intervening  territory.  Had  there  been  no  national 
opposition  to  the  establishment  of  a  protected  system 
of  overland  commerce  between  Western  Europe  and 
Eastern  Asia,  the  distance  was  too  great  to  be  travelled 
over  by  slowly  moving  caravans. 

As  early  as  tije  year  1 343  the  aggressive  enterprise 
of  the  Venetians  had  obtained  from  the  sultan  of 
Egypt  the  exclusive  privilege  of  sending  ships  to  trade 
in  the  ports  of  that  country  and  of  Syria.  The  mer- 
chants of  Venice  thereupon  established  commercial 
agencies  at  Alexandria  and  Damascus.  Their  factors 
penetrated  Central  and  Southern  Asia,  and  became 
active  participants  in  the  remunerative  traffic  of  those 
regions.  The  prized  productions  of  the  islands  in  the 
Indian  Ocean,  such  as  pepper,  cinnamon,  cloves,  and 
other  spices,  were  transported  by  them  to  Venice  and 
distributed  through  Europe.  Although  the  ocean  along 
the  western  and  southern  coast  of  Africa  to  the  East 
was  believed  to  be  navigable,  no  attempt  was  made 
in  the  fourteenth  century  to  sail  by  it  to  the  Moluccas 
or  Spice  Islands.  Concerning  the  early  navigation  of 
the  sea-path  along  the  coast  of  Africa,  from  the  Pillars 
of  Hercules  to  the  Arabian  Sea,  Herodotus  says  that 
when  Necho,  king  of  Egypt,  "  had  ceased  digging  the 

abouten  Inde.  *  *  *  Andzeeschulleundirstonde,  that  I  have  put  this  Boke 
out  of  Latyn  into  Frensche  and  translated  it  azen  out  of  Frensche  into  Eng- 
lyssche,  that  every  Man  of  my  Naciouu  may  undirstonde  it." — MS.  in  Cotton  Ian 
hbrary,  marked  Titus,  c,  xvi.  The  Voiage  and  Travaile  of  Sir  John  Maunde- 
vile,  Kt.    By  J.  O.  Halliwell.   London,  1849.     Prologue,  pp.  4,  5. 


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60 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


canal  leading  from  the  Nile  to  the  Arabian  Gulf,  he 
sent  certain  Phoenicians  in  ships,  with  orders  to  sail 
between  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  into  the  Northern 
Sea  [the  Mediterranean],  and  so  to  return  to  Egypt. 
These  Phamicians,  taking  their  course  from  the  Red 
Sea,  entered  the  Southern  Ocean.  On  the  approach 
of  autumn  they  landed  in  Libya  [Africa] ,  and  planted 
some  corn  in  the  place  where  they  happened  to  find 
themselves.  When  this  was  ripe,  and  they  had  cut  it 
down,  they  again  departed.  Having  thus  consumed 
two  years,  they  in  the  third  doubled  the  Pillars  of 
Hercules,  and  returned  to  Egypt.  Their  account  may 
obtain  at*  ution  from  others,  but  to  me  it  seems  in- 
credible, lor  they  affirmed,  that  having  sailed  around 
Libya,  they  had  the  sun  on  their  right  hand.  Thus 
was  Libya  for  the  first  time  known."  ' 

Pliny,  the  celebrated  encyclopedist  of  ancient  times, 
says  that  "  while  the  power  of  Carthage  was  at  its 
height,  Hanno  published  an  account  of  a  voyage  which 
he  made  from  Gades  [Cadiz,  Spain],  to  the  extremity 
of  Arabia.'  *  *  *  Besides,  we  learn  from  Cornelius 
Nepos,  that  one  Eudoxus,  a  contemporary  of  his,  when 
he  was  fleeing  from  King  Lathyrus,  set  out  from  the 
Arabian  Gulf,  and  was  carried  as  far  as  Gades.^  And 
long  before  him,  Caelius  Antipater  informs  us  that  he 
had  seen  a  person  who  had  sailed  from  Spain  to 
Ethiopia  for  the  purpose  of  trade.  The  same  Cor- 
nelius Nepos,  when  speaking  of  the  northern  circum- 
navigation, tells  us  that  Q.  Metellus  Celer,  the  col- 
league of  L.  Afranius  in  the  consulship,  but  then  a 

'  Herodotus  :    Melpomene  xlii. 

*  Caius  Plinius  Secundus,  a  Roman  writer,  born  A.  D.  23,  and  died  A.  D.  79. 

Hanno's  expedition  was  undertaken  about  570  B.  c. 

'  Eudoxus  of  Cyzicus,  a  Greek  navigator,  lived  about  130  B  c.  Ptolemy 
Lathyrus  began  his  reifjn  d.  c.  117.  Cornelius  Nepos  flourished  in  the  cen- 
tury before  the  Christian  era. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


proconsul  in  Gaul,'  had  a  present  made  to  him  by  the 
king  of  the  Suevi,'  of  certain  Indians,  who,  sailing 
from  India  for  the  {mrpose  oi  commerce,  had  been 
driven  by  tempests  to  Germany."  ' 

These  statements  were  quoted  in  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries  to  support  the  growing  belief  that 
India  could  be  reached  in  a  short  time  by  sailing  round 
the  coast  of  Africa.  But  the  want  of  nautical  instru- 
ments restrained  seamen  from  undertaking  a  voyage 
which  carried  them  beyond  the  sight  of  familiar  coasts 
and  beneath  new  constellations.  It  was  extremely 
perilous  for  European  navigators  to  attempt  to  sail  to 
India  before  they  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  use 
of  the  mariner's  compass  and  of  the  astrolabe.  The 
polarity  of  the  magnet  was  known  among  oriental 
nations  several  centuries  l^efore  the  Christian  era.  The 
use  of  the  magnetic  needle  for  the  guidance  of  vessels, 
however,  did  not  become  popular  in  Europe  until  as 
late  as  the  fourteenth  century.*  The  slowness  with 
which  its  use  grew  into  favor  with  European  seamen  is 
ascribable  to  the   prevailing  superstition  which  hun^ 

'  Supposed  to  have  been  in  th;  year  of  the  building  of  Rome,  691. 

*  Suevi,  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  Germany  between  '.he  Danube 
and  the  Baltic  Sea, 

'  Historia  Naturalis.  lib,  ii.  cap.  Ixvii.  " ' ' 

*  "In  Christian  Europe  the  earliest  mention  of  the  use  of  the  magnetic 
needle  occurs  in  the  politico-satirical  poem,  called  La  Bible,  by  Guyot,  of 
Provence,  in  1190,  and  in  the  description  of  Palestine  by  Jacobus,  of  Vitry, 
Bishop  of  Ptolemais,  betv/een  1204  and  1215.  Dan'-'  (in  h.\i  FaraJ.  xii.,  29) 
refers,  in  a  simile,  to  the  needle  (as^o)  '  which  points  to  the  star.'  " 

"Navarrete,  in  )oSs,  Discurso  historico  sobre  los  progresos  del  Arte  de  Nave- 
gar  en  Espana,  1802,  p.  28,  recalls  a  remarkaMe  passage  in  the  Spanish  Leyes 
de  las  Partidas  (II.  tit.  ix.,  ley  28),  of  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century: 
'  The  needle,  which  guides  the  seaman  in  the  dark  night,  and  shows  him,  both 
in  good  and  bad  weather,  how  to  direct  his  couv«e,  is  the  intermediary  agent 
(medianera)  between  the  loadstone  {la  piedra)  and  the  north  star.'  *  *  * 
See  the  passage  in  Las  Stele  Partidas  del  sabio  Key  Don  Alonsoelix.  (accord- 
ing to  the  usually  adopted  chronological  order,  Alonso  the  Xth).  Madrid, 
1829.  t.  i.  p.  473." — Humboldt:  Cosmos.  Otte's  trans,  vol.  ii.  p.  629,  and 
note. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF   AMERICA. 


like  a  darkening  cloud  over  the  minds  of  the  people. 
The  strange  conservuLism  of  the  age  is  well  described 
in  a  letter  written,  as  it  seems,  in  the  year  I258,  by 
Brunette  Latini,  a  learned  Italian,  Dante's  tutor,  to 
Guido  Cavalcanti  of  Florence.  Speaking  of  his  visit 
to  Roger  Bacon,  the  English  philosopher  and  monk,  at 
Oxford,  England,  he  says  : 

"  The  Parliament  being  summoned  to  assemble  at 
Oxford,  I  did  not  fail  to  see  Friar  Bacon  as  soon  as  I 
arrived,  and  [among  (>ther  things]  he  showed  me  a 
black  ugly  stone,  called  a  magnet,  which  has  the  sur- 
prising property  of  drawing  iron  to  it ;  and  upon  which, 
if  a  needle  be  rubbed,  and  afterwards  fastened  to  a 
straw,  so  that  it  shall  swim  upon  water,  the  needle  will 
instantly  turn  toward  the  pole-star  ;  therefore,  be  the 
night  ever  so  dark,  so  that  neither  moon  nor  star  be 
visible,  yet  shall  the  mariner  be  able,  by  the  help  of  the 
needle,  to  steei'  his  vessel  aright.' 

"  This  discovery,  which  appears  useful  in  so  great 
a  degree  to  all  who  travel  by  sea,  must  remain  con- 
cealed until  other  times,  because  no  master-mariner 
dares  to  use  it  lest  he  should  fall  under  a  supposition 
of  his  being  a  magician  ;  nor  would  even  the  sailors 
venture  themselves  out  to  sea  under  his  command  if 
he  took  wich  him  an  instrument  which  carries  so  great 
an  appearance  of  being  constructed  under  the  influence 
of  some  infernal  spirit.  A  time  may  come  when  these 
prejudices,  which  are  of  such  great  hindrance  to  re- 
searches into  the  secrets  of  nature,  will  probably  be  no 
more ;  and  then  it  will  be  that  mankind  shall  reap  the 
benefit  of  the  labors  of  such  learned  men  as   Friar 

'  "  La  magnete  piere  laide  ei  noire.  Ob  ete  fervolenters  se  joint.  Lontouchet 
oh  une  aguilet.  Et  en  festtte  Ion  Jischie.  Puis  Ion  mette  en  laigue  et  se  tient 
desus.  Et  la  point  se  torne  contre  lestoille.  Quant  la  nuit  feit  tenebrous  et  Ion 
ne  voie  estoile  ne  lune,  poet  li  mariner  tenir  droite  voie." 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


63 


Bacon,  and  do  justice  to  that  industry  and  intelligence 
for  which  he  and  they  now  meet  with  no  other  return 
than  obloquy  and  reproach."  ' 

About  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
Flavia  Gioja  of  Amalfi,  in  Naples,  devised  what  were 
then  known  as  the  eight  points  of  the  superficies — the 
four  cardinal  and  the  four  intermediate  points  of  the 
compass-card.'  P  rom  this  time  forward  the  use  of  the 
magnet  gradually  found  favor  with  European  seamen. 

The  most  enthusiastic  projector  of  voyages  of  dis- 
covery undertaken  to  ascertain  the  character  of  the 
land  and  water  divisions  of  the  earth,  in  the  early  part 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  was  Prince  Henry,  the  son  of 
King  John  I.  of  Portugal.^  When  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  he  witnessed,  in  141 5,  the  taking  of  Ceuta,  on 
the  northern  coast  of  Africa,  opposite  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  Portugal.  While  at  this  opulent  city,  he 
learned  from  its  merchants  and  traders  that  the  conti- 
nent extended  far  southward  and  was  inhabited  by 
many  strange  people.  Fixing  his  residence  on  the 
promontory  of  Sagres,  at  the  southwestern  extremity 
of  Portugal,  he  began  to  send  the  most  experienced  sea- 
men in  the  service  of  Portugal  to  explore  the  western 
coast  of  Africa.  For  a  time  Cape  de  Nao,  in  north  lati- 
tude, 28°  45'  was  considered  the  limit  of  safe  navigation. 
It  was  a  common  saying  among  Portuguese  seamen, 

'The  Monthly  Magazine,  or  British  Register.  London,  1802.  vol.  xiii. 
part  I.  p.  449.  The  Life  of  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal.  By  Henry  Major. 
London,  1868.     pp.  58,  59. 

'"We  are  told  by  Antonio  Beccadelli,  surnamed  11  Panormita  from  his 
birthplace,  Palermo,  and  who  was  a  contemporary  of  Prince  Henry,  that  sailors 
were  first  indebted  to  Amalfi  for  the  use  of  the  magnet — '■Prima  dedit  nauiis 
usum  magnetis  Amalphis  ' ;  and  'Jnventrix  praclara  fuit  magnetis  Amalphis' 
*  *  *  The  former  of  these  lines  is  quoted  from  II  Panormita  by  Henricus 
Brenemanus,  in  his  Dissertatio  de  Republica  Amalfitana,  and  Klaproth  has 
added  the  latter."   Life  of  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal.    Major,    p.  59. 

*  Dom  Henrique  was  born  at  Oporto,  March  4,  1394. 


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64 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


that  "  He  who  should  pass  Cabo  de  Nao,  either  will 
return  or  not." '  Beyond  it  was  Cape  Bojador,  in  26° 
1 2'  north  latitude.  This  rocky  headland,  for  a  time,  was 
also  deemed  perilous  and  impassable.  "  Beyond  this 
cape "  it  was  said,  "  there  is  no  people  w  hatever ; 
the  ground  is  as  barren  as  that  of  Libya, — no  water,  no 
trees,  no  grass  in  it ;  the  sea  is  so  shallow  that  at  a 
league  from  the  land  it  is  only  a  fathom  deep  ;  the  cur- 
rents are  so  strong  that  a  ship  passing  the  cape  cannot 
recurn."'  The  attempts  made  by  Prince  Henry's  mari- 
ners to  double  the  two  capes  are  thus  commented  upon 
by  Antonio  Galvano,  the  Portuguese  historian,^  in  his 
treatise  respecting  the  routes  by  which  spices  came 
from  India  to  the  year  i55o  :  "  In  those  day5.  none  of 
the  Portuguese  had  yet  passed  Cabo  de  Nao  in  29  de- 
grees of  latitude."  But  after  it  was  doubled,  "  when 
they  came  to  another  cape  named  Bojador,  there  was 
not  one  of  them  that  dared  to  risk  his  life  beyond  it. 
The  prince  was  exceedingly  displeased  with  their  want 
of  confidence  and  unmanly  timidity."  *     Of  the  number 

' "  Quern passar  o  Cabo  de  Nao,  ou  voltara  ou  nao." 

'Chronica  do  descobrimento  e  conquista  de  Guine,  escripta  per  mandado 
de  el  Rey.  D.  Affonso  V.  sob  a  direc^ao  scientifica  e  secundo  as  instruc9oes  do 
illustre  infante  D.  Henrique,  pelo  chronista  Gomes  Eannes  de  Azurara,  fiel- 
mente  transladada  do  manuscrito  original  contcmporaneo  que  se  conserva  na 
Bibliotheca  Real  de  Pariz.  Edited  by  the  Visconde  da  Carreira,  with  introduc- 
tion and  notes  by  the  Vicomte  de  Santarem.    Paris,  1841.     cap.  viii. 

'  Antonio  Galvano  was  born  about  the  year  1502.  In  1538  he  was  appointed 
by  the  king  of  Poi  tugal  governor  of  the  Moluccas  or  Spice  Islands.  He  was 
recalled  about  the  year  1545,  and  died  in  1557. 

*  Tratado,  que  compos  o  nobrc  &  notitupl  capitSo  Antonio  Galuio,  dos 
diuersos  &  desuayrados  caminhos,  por  onde  nos  tempos  passados  a  pimenta 
&  especearia  veyo  da  India  .'s  nossas  partes,  &  assi  de  todos  os  descobrimen- 
tos  antigos  &  modernos,  que  sao  fcitos  ate  a  era  de  mil  &  quinhentos  & 
cincoenta.  »  *  *  Impressa  em  casa  de  Joam  de  Barreira  inipressor  del  rey 
nosso  senhor,  na  Rua  de  Sa  Mameda.     [Lisboa.] 

Vide  The  discoveries  of  tne  world,  from  their  first  original  unto  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1555,  by  Antonio  Galvano,  governor  ot  Ternate.  Corrected, 
quoted,  and  published  in  England,  by  Richard  Hakluyt,  (1610).  Now  re- 
printed, with  the  original  Portuguese  text,  and  edited  by  Vice-admiral  Bcthunc, 
C.  B.    London,  1862.     Hakluyt  Society  publication. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


65 


of  sec:men  that  had  made  unsuccessful  attempts  to  pass 
the  cape  was  Gil  Eannes.  Disappointed  as  Prince 
Henry  was  by  these  failures  to  accomplish  that  which 
he  had  ordered  them  to  do,  he  nevertheless  gave  his 
timorous  navigators  all  the  encouragement  he  could  to 
induce  'hem  to  maice  other  and  more  persistent  efforts 
to  double  the  formidable  headland.  In  1434,  he  again 
sent  Gil  Eanno  ,  to  explore  the  coast  beyond  Cape 
Bojador.  Before  the  latter  departed  the  prince  en- 
deavored to  dispel  the  terrifying  fancies  that  might 
deter  him  from  attempting  to  prosecute  the  undertak- 
ing for  which  he  was  commissioned.  "  You  cannot 
incur  such  peril  "  said  the  prince,  "  that  the  promised 
reward  shall  not  be  commensurate  thereto.  It  is  very 
strange  to  me  that  you  should  be  governed  by  a  fear 
of  something  of  which  you  are  ignorant,  for  if  the 
things  reported  had  any  authentication,  I  should  not 
find  fault  with  you  for  believing  them.  T  le  stories  of  the 
four  seamen  driven  out  of  their  course  to  Flanders  or 
to  the  ports  to  which  they  were  sailing  are  not  to  be 
credited,  fo*"  they  had  not  and  could  not  have  used  the 
needle  and  the  chart.  But  do  you  go  notwithstanding, 
and  make  your  voyage  without  being  influenced  by 
their  opii;ions,  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  you  will  not 
fail  to  secure,  by  your  enterprise,  both  honor  and  com- 
pensation."' Gil  Eannes  followed  the  advice  of  his 
sanguine  patron,  and  succeeded  the  same  year  in  doub- 
ling Cape  Bojador  and  in  exploring  a  part  of  the  coast 
beyond  it. 

South  of  Cape  Bojador  it  was  believed  that  a  zone 
of  scorching  heat  would  be  entered  by  vessels  sailing 
toward  the  equator.  Pliny  adverts  to  it  in  these 
words  :   "  The  middle  of  the  earth,  over  which  is  th^ 

'Chronica  do  desccbrimento  e  conquista  de  Guin^.     cap.  ix. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


path  of  the  sun,  is  parched  and  set  on  fire  by  the  lu- 
minary, and  is  consumed  by  being  so  near  the  heat. 
There  are  only  two  of  the  zones  which  are  temperate 
— those  which  lie  between  the  torrid  and  the  frigid 
zones — and  these  are  separated  from  each  other,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  scorching  heat  of  the  heavenly  bodies." ' 
Conceiving  this  statemeni  to  be  as  fallacious  as  many 
other  deckraticns  of  the  early  geographers  had  been, 
Prince  Heniy,  in  1464,  sent  Luigi  da  Cadamosto,  a 
Venetian  navigator,  to  explore  the  coast  beycnd  Cape 
Bojador  so  long  invested  with  so  many  imaginary  ter- 
rors. In  1462  Pedro  de  Cmtra  sailed  three  hundred 
miles  beyond  Sierre  Leone. 

As  i«-  was  neti  ssary  for  seamjen  to  know  the  latitude 
and  longitude  of  the  places  to  which  they  desired  to 
sail,  another  nautical  instrument  besides  the  mariner's 
compars  was  needed  by  them.'  The  adaptation  of  an 
instrument  called  the  astrolabe,  by  which  the  latitudes 

'  Historia  Naturalis.     lib.  ii.  cap.  Ixviii. 

'  The  distance  of  a  place,  noith  or  south  of  'lie  equator,  was  determined  by 
ascertaining  with  the  astrolabe  the  elevation  of  the  pole  of  the  heavens  above 
thf  plant,  of  the  horizon. 

The  distance  of  one  place  from  another,  east  or  west  of  a  meridian,  was 
obtained  by  ascertaining  the  difference  of  time  at  the  two  points  ;  the  difference 
of  time  being  one  hour  to  each  spac  of  fifteen  degrees  of  longitude.  Although 
a  navigator  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth  century  could  determine  with  his 
ustrolabe  the  time  of  the  place  where  he  was  in  port,  from  the  altitude  of  the  sun 
or  other  heavenly  bodies,  the  want  of  an  accurate  chronometer  made  it  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  know  the  exact  time  of  a  place  elsewhere.  Pigafetta,  who 
sailed  round  the  world  in  1519-1522,  says  in  his  treatise  on  naviga- 
tion :  "  Pilots  now  are  satisfied  with  knowing  the  latitude,  and  are  so  pre- 
sumptuous that  they  refuse  to  hear  longitude  mentioned." — MS.  in  Ambro- 
sian  Library,  Milan. 

To  obtain  a  practical  solution  h{  the  difficulties  which  perplexed  seamen  in 
determining  the  longitude  of  places,  the  Spanish  government  offered  a  thousand 
crowns,  in  1598,  for  an  accurafe  method  of  ascertaining  the  time  of  distant 
places.  Not  long  afterward  the  government  of  the  United  Provinces  of  the 
Netherlands  offered  ten  thousand  florins  for  similar  information,  and,  in  1714, 
the  parliament  of  Great  Britain  passed  an  act  profferinf^  a  gift  of  money  to  any 
person  who  should  discover  the  best  means  o^  ascertaining  longitude. 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


67 


of  places  could  be  determined,  apparently  originated 
with  King  John  II.  of  Portugal.' 

It  is  said  that  "  when  Prince  Henry  began  the  dis- 
covery of  Guinea  that  all  mariners  were  accustomed  to 
sail  along  the  coasts,  and  that  they  always  steered  their 
courses  by  observing  the  physical  features  of  the  land, 
which  are  still  used  as  guides." 

"  This  method  of  navigating  permitted  them  to  make 
voyages  from  place  to  place  ;  but  when  they  wished 
to  sail  in  the  open  sea,  losing  sight  of  the  coast  and 
standing  out  on  the  wide  ocean,  they  perceived  the 
numerous  errors  they  had  made  in  calculating  and 
judging  the  day's  run,  for  they  had  been  accustomed 
to  allow  so  much  way  to  the  ship  in  the  twenty-four 
hours  on  account  of  the  currents  and  the  other  myste- 
ries of  the  sea,  the  facts  of  which  are  clearly  demon- 
strated by  navigating  by  altitude.  But  as  necessity  is 
the  teacher  of  all  arts,  in  the  time  of  King  John  II., 
the  matter  of  navigation  was  assigned  by  him  to  Mas- 
ter Roderic,  and  Master  Joseph,  a  Jew,  (who  were  his 
physicians,)  and  to  one  Martin  of  Bohemia,  a  native  of 
those  parts,  who  boasted  of  being  a  pupil  of  John  of 
Monteregius,  a  famous  astronomer  among  the  profes- 
sors of  that  science,'  and  these  devised  the  way  of  navi- 
gating by  the  sun's  altitude,  and  they  made  tables  of 

'  Joam  II.  of  Portugal  reigned  from  1481  to  1495. 

"Astrolabes  designed  for  the  determination  of  time  and  geographical  lati- 
tudes by  meridian  altitudes,  and  capable  of  being  employed  at  sea,  underwent 
gradual  improvement  from  the  lime  that  the  astrolabium  of  the  Majorican 
pilots  was  in  use,  which  is  described  by  Raymond  Lully,  in  1295,  in  his  Arte 
de  navegar,  till  the  invention  of  the  instrument  made  by  Martin  Behaim,  in 
1484,  at  Lisbon,  and  which  was,  perhaps,  only  a  simplification  of  the  meteoro- 
scope  of  his  friend  Regiomontanus." —Humboldt  :  Cosmos.  Otte's  trans, 
vol,  ii.  pp.  630,  631. 

°  Martin  Behaim  was  born  in  Nuremberg  about  the  year  1459.  His  com- 
mercial business  induced  him  to  visit  Portugal  about  the  year  1480,  where,  it  is 
said,  he  became  a  pupil  of  Johann  Ml\ller,  known  as  Regiomontanus.  He  accom- 
panied Diogo  Cani  to  the  Congo,  in  14S4.  He  afterward  resided  on  the  island 
of  Fayal,  one  of  th;  Azores,  for  a  number  of  years.     His  celebrated  terrestrial 


i,. 


'll 


i 


68 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


his  declination  such  as  are  now  used  by  navigators, 
now  more  complete  than  tliey  were  at  the  beginning 
when  the  great  wooden  astrolabes  were  first  used."* 

This  novel  and  serviceable  nautical  instrument,  first 
made  of  wood  and  of  a  triangular  phape,  was  soon  in 
general  use  on  Portuguese  vessels.  The  astrolabe  was 
improved  from  time  to  time.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
sevente  :;nth  century,  when  the  French  seaman,  Samuel 
de  Champlain,  v;as  exploring  the  St.  Lawrence  River 
and  its  tributaries,  it  was  a  disk  of  brass,  having  one  of 
its  faces  marked  with  degrees  and  minutes.  A  brass 
rule,  called  a  label,  with  sight-holes,  turning  upon  a 
pivot  at  the  centre  of  the  instrument,  moved  over  the 
marked  circumfere*'  tf  the  disk.  At  the  zenith  part 
of  the  instrument  ..aere  was  a  small  ring  by  which  it 
could  be  suspended  from  the  thutr  b  of  the  person  taking 
an  observation.  When  used  the  astrolabe  was  turned 
to  the  sun,  so  that  his  rays  could  freely  pass  through 
the  two  sight-holes  of  the  label.  In  this  position  the 
altitude  of  the  sun  was  indicated  on  the  divided  limb  of 
the  instrument.  Opposite  the  zenith  point  was  a  small 
eyelet  from  which  a  weight  could  be  suspended  to  keep 
the  instrument  from  shaking  when  used. 

In  the  fifteenth  century  the  day's  run  of  a  ship  was 
commonly  reckoned  by  the  pilot.  In  an  old  nautical 
work  it  is  said  :  "  In  order  to  know  the  speed  of  the 
ship  over  the  length  of  the  course  the  pilot  must  set 
down  In  his  journal  the  progress  the  vessel  has  made 
according  to  hours  ;  and  to  do  this  he  must  know  that 
the  greatest  distance  that  a  ship  advances  in  an  hour  is 
four  miles,  and  with  feebler   breezes,  three  or  only 

globe  was  corstructed  by  him,  at  Nuro  b  rg  <.r>->u!  'le  year  1492.  He  'iied  at 
Lisbon,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  J  i);/,  !•/  r\ 

'Asia  de  Joam  de  Darro?  dos  lectos  q  -■  os  7n:ii-^ii<"  's  fizeram  no  descob- 
rimento  &  coaiquista  do3  r.ar.  «  &  te.ru;  U  » rrw  J  h  ij^rr  »a  per  Germao  Gal- 
harde  em  Lixboa  :  a  xk'"'.  de  Jani  k^..mi  's  la.  v-.  lij.  dec.  i.  hb,  iv. 
cap  ii. 


A  representation  of  the  astrolahe  found  in  1867  in  the  county  of  North 
Renfrew,  province  of  Ontario,  Canada,  supposed  to  have  been  lost  by 
Champlain  on  his  way  to  Ottawa  in  1613.  The  diameter  of  the  instrument 
is  "five  inciies  and  five-eights."  Vide  "  Champlain's  astrolabe."  By  A. 
J.  Russell.    Montreal,  1879. 


I 


1 


^l^i 


1  m 


!'.■■'. 
-3 


M 


' 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


69 


two." '  Time  was  measured  by  sand-glasses,  or  am- 
polletas,  as  they  were  called  by  the  Spaniards.  Forty- 
eight  changes  of  these  lialf-hour  glasses  equalled  the 
space  of  a  day." 

In  1487  the  persistent  enterprise  of  the  Portuguese 
in  exploring  a  commercial  route  to  India  along  the 
west  and  south  coasts  of  Africa  was  notably  signalized 
by  the  success  attending  the  expedition  commanded  by 
the  adventurous  seaman,  Bartolomeu  Dias.  The  in- 
domitable zeal  of  this  Portuguese  mariner  enabled  him 
to  reach  the  southern  extremity  of  Africa,  where  he 
found  a  bold  promonitory  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
of  Cabo  Tormentoso,  (the  Stormy  Cape,)  commemora- 
tive of  the  adverse  winds  and  bad  weather  encountered 
there.  King  John  II.,  personally  appreciating  the  good 
fortune  attending  the  explorations  of  the  navigators  of 
Portugal  in  this  direction  during  the  previous  seventy 
years,  in  which  time  more  than  six  thousand  miles  of 
coast-line  had  been  inspected  by  them,  called  the  prom- 
ontory discovered  by  Dias,  Cabo  de  Boa  Esperan9a 
(the  Cape  of  Good  Hcpe).^ 

'  Arte  de  nauegar.  Por  el  maestro  Pedro  de  Medina.  Valladolid.  1545. 
'"I  find  the  first  mention  of  the  application  of  the  log  in  a  passage  of 
Pigafetta's  journal  of  Magellan's  voyage  of  circumnavigation,  which  long  lay 
buried  among  the  manuscripts  in  the  Ambrosian  Library  at  Milan.  It  is  there 
said  that  in  the  month  of  January,  1 521,  when  Magellan  had  already  arrived  in 
the  Pacific,  'Seconda  la  misura  (he  facevamo  del  viaggio  colla  catena  a  poppa  noi 
percorrevamo  da  60  in  70  legAe  algiomo'  [follo'ving  the  measure  which  we  made 
of  our  progress  with  the  cha'n  at  the  stem,  we  ran  from  sixty  to  seventy  leagues 
a  day].  (Aif.oretti.  Prinio  Viaggio  intomo  al  Globo  terracqueo  ossia  NaWga- 
zione  fattadal  Cavaliere  Antonio  Pigafetta  sullasquadra  del  Magaglianes,  1800. 
p.  46.)  What  can  this  arrangement  of  a  chain  at  Uc  hinaer  part  of  the  ship 
(catena  a  poppa),  '  which  we  used  throughout  the  entire  voyage  to  measure  the 
way,'  have  been  except  an  apparatus  similar  to  our  log  ?  " — Humboldt :  Cosmok 
Ottc's  trans,    vol.  ii.  p.  633.  « 

_        '  The  Cape  of  Goo<l  Hope  is  in  34°  22'  south  latitude. 

It  is  said  that  Dias  found  by  the  astrolabe  that  the  cape  was  in  45"  ao«th 
latitude,  and  that  it  was  3,100  leagues  distant  from  Lisbon.  This  distance,  it  is 
related,  Dias  set  down,  league  by  league,  on  a  marine  chart,  which  he  presented 
to  King  John  II.  Historia  General  de  las  Indias.  Bartolome  de  las  Casas. 
lib.  i.  cap,  vii. 


.J 


:!i 


A. 
11 


CHAPTER  III. 


If 


1 474- 1 492. 

The  success  attending  the  voyages  of  the  Portuguese 
along  the  coast  of  Africa  suggested  to  Cristoforo 
Colombo '  (or  Christopher  Columbus,  as  he  is  more 
commonly  called  by  those  speaking  English),  the  possi- 
bility of  sailing  by  a  shorter  way  to  India  in  another 
direction.  Ferdinand  Columbus,  in  his  history  of  the 
life  and  achievements  of  his  father,'  makes  no  attempt  to 

'  Cristoforo  Colombo  was  born  in  the  city  of  Genoa,  about  the  year  1435. 
His  father,  Dominico  Colombo,  wiis  a  wool-comber.  The  navigator  married,  in 
Lisbon,  DoKa  Felipa,  the  claunlitur  of  Rartoloinco  Mofiis  de  I'lit^slielio,  a  dls- 
tiiigiilrthcd  mmliicr,  wlio  had   neen  in  the  service  of  Pritice  Henry  of  Portugal. 

Ferdinand  Columbus,  in  his  history  of  the  life  and  achievements  of  his  father, 
remarks  :  "  So  it  is  that  some,  who  would  cast  a  cloud  upon  his  fame,  say  he 
was  of  Nervi,  others  of  Cugureo,  and  others  of  Bugiesco,  all  small  towns  near 
the  city  of  Genoa,  and  upon  its  coast.  Others,  who  wish  tn  exalt  him,  say  he 
was  a  native  of  Savona,  others  of  Genoa,  and  others,  more  vain,  make  him  of 
Piacenza,  in  which  city  there  are  some  honorable  persons  of  his  family  and 
tombs  with  the  arms  and  inscriptions  of  t!ie  family  of  Colombi,  this  being  the 
common  surname  of  his  ancestors,  though  he,  complying  with  the  customs  of  the 
country  where  he  went  to  live  and  begin  a  new  condition  of  life,  altered  the 
word  that  it  might  be  like  the  old  name,  and  designated  the  direct  from  the 
collateral  line,  calling  hiribLlf  Colon.  *  *  *  And  the  surname  of  Colon 
which  he  revived  was  appropriate,  which  in  Greek  signifies  a  member,  and  his 
Ciiristian  name  being  Christopher,  designate  him  as  being  a  member  of  Christ, 
by  whom  salvation  was  conveyed  to  those  Indian  people." — Histoire  del  Signore 
Don  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  i. 

°  Fernando  Colombo,  an  illegitimate  son  of  the  admiral,  was  bom  in  Cor- 
dova about  the  year  1487.  After  his  father's  discovery  of  the  New  World,  he 
was  made  pags  to  Prince  Juan,  the  son  of  King  Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella. 
He  accompanied  his  father  ia  his  fourth  voyage,  in  1502,  and  after  the  lalter's 
death,  sailed  twice  to  the  West  Indies.  He  was  excellently  educated,  and  was 
the  author  of  several  works.  His  library,  it  is  said,  contained  more  than  twenty 
thousand  books  and  manuscripts,  which,  after  his  death,  became  the  property 
of  the  cathedral  of  Seville.       The  manuscript  of  his  history  of  the  life  of  his 

,79 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


71 


conceal  this  fact  from  publicity.  With  an  apparent 
intention  to  give  all  the  information  which  might  be 
desired  concerning  the  great  discoverer's  first  thoughts 
respecting  the  practicability  of  reaching  Asia  by  sailing 
in  a  westerly  direction,  he  frankly  tells  what  originated 
them  in  the  mind  of  the  admiral.  "  As  one  thing  leads 
to  another,  and  one  thought  to  another,  in  this  way, 
while  the  admiral  was  in  Portugal,  he  began  to  infer 
that  as  the  Portuguese  sailed  so  far  southward,  it  was 
also  feasible  to  steer  westward,  and  that  land  might 
likely  be  found  in  this  direction.  In  order  to  be  more 
assured  and  satisfied  in  this  matter,  he  began  to  review 
the  cosmographies  which  he  had  read,  and  to  note  what 
astronomical  reasons  would  support  this  theory.'     That 

father  was  lost  before  the  work  appeared  in  Spanish.  It  is  said  that  Luis  Colon, 
duke  of  Veragua,  a  dissipated  grandson  of  the  navigator,  went  to  Genoa  about 
the  year  1568,  taking  Fernando's  manuscript  with  him,  and  placed  it  in  the  hands 
of  Ualtano  de  Fornari,  by  whom  it  wns  transferred  to  Giorgio  Baptista  Marini, 
who  had  it  translated  into  Italian,  after  wlilcli  it  was  printed  in  Venice  in  this 
language,  and  also  in  Latin.  Alfonso  de  Ulloa's  Italian  translation  of  it  was 
published,  in  Venice,  in  1571,  entitled  T'istorie  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo  ; 
nelli  quali  s'  ha  particolare,  &  vera  relatioae  della  vita,  &.  de  'faiti  dell  'Ammi- 
raglio  D.  Cristoforo  Colombo,  suo  padre.  There  are  several  English  translations 
of  Fernando  Colombo's  history.  KiV<f  Co"ection  of  voyages  and  travels  by 
[A.  &  J.J  Churchhill.  London,  1732.  vol.  ii.  pp.  499-628,  Pinkerton's  Col- 
lection of  voyages  and  travels.     London,  1819.     vol.  ii.  pp.  I  -155. 

'  Columbus,  in  his  investigations,  no  doubt,  became  informed  concerning 
the  arguments  advanced  by  the  Greek  astronomer,  Anaximander,  in  the  sixth 
century  btfore  the  Christian  era,  respecting  the  globular  form  of  the  earth.  He 
evidently  read  what  Aristotle  wrote  in  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era  : 
"  As  to  the  figure  of  the  earth,  it  must  necessarily  be  spherical.  *  *  *  And, 
moreover,  from  the  visible  phenomena,  for  if  It  were  not  so,  the  eclipses  of  the 
moon  would  not  have  such  sections  as  they  have.  For  in  the  configurations  in 
the  course  of  a  month,  the  deficient  part  takes  all  different  shapes  ;  it  is  straight, 
and  concave,  and  convex  ;  but  in  eclipses  it  always  has  the  line  of  division  con- 
vex ;  wherefore,  since  the  moon  is  eclipsed  in  consequence  of  the  interposition 
of  the  earth,  the  periphery  of  the  earth  nr.ust  be  the  cause  of  this  by  having  a 
spherical  form.  And  again,  from  the  appearance  of  the  stars,  it  is  clear  not  only 
that  the  earth  is  round,  but  that  its  size  is  not  very  great ;  for  when  we  go  a  little 
distance  to  the  south  or  to  the  north,  the  circle  of  the  horizon  becomes  palpably 
different,  so  that  the  stars  overheard  undergo  a  great  change,  and  are  not  the 
same  to  those  that  travel  to  the  north  and  to  the  south.     For  some  stars  are  seen 


I.  i 


if 


n 


DISCOVERIES  OF   AMERICA. 


i-'- 


he  might  be  more  enlightened  concerning  his  assump- 
tion, he  paid  attention  to  wiiat  was  said  by  people 
respecting  it,  especially  by  seamen.  His  diligent  investi- 
gations soon  led  him  to  conclude  that  there  were  many 
lands  west  of  the  Canaries  and  the  Cape  Verd  Islands, 
and  that  it  was  practicable  to  sail  to  and  discover 
them."  ' 

The  remarkable  aptitude  displayed  by  Columbus 
in  forming  his  conclus' ons  that  the  Atlantic  Ocean  was 
navigable,  and  that  ships  might  pass  across  its  unex- 
plored expanse  to  Cathay,  was  the  natural  expression 
of  his  peculiar  passion  for  geographical  knowledge.  In 
a  letter  written  to  their  Spanish  majesties.  King  Ferdi- 
nand and  Queen  Isabella,  in  i5oi,  he  says:  "I  went 
to  sea  when  quite  young,  and  have  continued  my  sea- 
faring until  now ;  and  this  profession  makes  those  who 
follow  it  eager  to  discover  the  secrets  of  thi^  globe.  It 
is  now  forty  years  that  I  have  been  sailing  to  all  those 
places  which  are  at  present  visited,  and  I  have  dealt 
and  talked  with  learned  people,  ecclesiastics  as  well  as 
laymen,  Latins,  Greeks,  Indians,  Moors,  and  many 
other  people  of  different  nations,  and  our  Lord  has 
favored  this  inclination,  and  I   have  received  from  him 

in  Egypt  and  at  Cyprus,  but  are  not  seen  in  the  countries  north  of  them  ;  and  the 
stars  that  in  the  north  are  visible  while  they  make  a  cor..plete  circuit  there  [in 
Egypt  and  at  Cyprus],  undergo  a  setting.  So  that  from  this  it  is  manifest,  not 
only  that  the  form  of  the  earth  is  round,  but  also  that  it  is  not  a  very  large  sphere  ; 
for  otherwise  the  difference  would  not  be  so  obvious  to  persons  making  so  small 
a  change  of  place.  Wherefore  we  may  judge  that  those  persons  who  connect  the 
region  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  with  that  toward  India,  and 
who  assert  that  in  this  way  the  sea  is  one,  do  not  assert  things  very  improbable. 
They  confirm  this  conjecture,  moreover,  by  elephants,  which  rre  said  to  be  .' 
the  same  species  toward  each  extreme  of  the  earth,  as  if  this  circumstance  wa  . 
a  consequence  of  the  conjunction  of  the  extreme  parts.  The  mathemati  cians,  w!i.  • 
try  to  calculate  the  measure  of  the  circumference,  make  it  amount  to  400,000 
stadia  ;  whence  we  infer  that  the  earth  is  not  only  spherical,  but  that  it  is  not 
large  compared  with  the  magnitude  of  the  other  stars" — De  "^oelo.    lib.  ii 

c.-u).  xiv.  

'  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  v. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


73 


the  spirit  of  understanding.  He  has  made  me  very 
skillful  in  navij^^ition,  and  to  know  much  in  astronomy, 
in  geometry,  and  mathei  atics.  God  has  given  me  the 
knowledge  and  the  ability  to  portray  the  globe,  and 
ilso  to  delineate  cities,  rivers,  islands,  and  ports  in  their 
proper  situation.  Uurin  ,  my  life  I  have  examined  and 
endeavored  to  see  all  books  of  C(»smography,  history, 
and  philosophy,  and  of  the  other  :  iences,  so  that  our 
Lord  has  sensibly  opened  my  mind  in  ordt  that  I  may 
sail  from  here  to  the  Indies,  and  has  :i  ide  me  ex- 
tremely anxious  to  do  it."* 

Columbus's  irrepressible  desire  to  possess  all  the 
information  he  could  acquire  respecting  the  navigable 
water-ways  of  the  Atlantic  also  led  him  to  sail  over  the 
sea-path  to  Iceland  and  to  the  south  coast  of  Africa,  at 
the  equator.  In  his  geographical  work,  written  "  to 
show  that  all  the  five  zones  are  habitable,"  he  says  : 
" '  In  February,  1467, 1  sailr- '  myself  a  hundred  leagues 
beyond  Thule,  the  northern  part  of  wh'ch  is  seventy 
degrees  distant  from  the  equator,  and  not  sixty-three 
degrees  as  some  will  have  it  to  be ;  nor  does  it  lie  upon 
the  line  where  Ptolemy's  West  begins,  but  much  more 
to  the  westward,  and  to  thi?  island,  which  is  as  large  as 
England,  the  English  trade,  especially  those  from  Bris- 
tol.' At  the  time  I  was  there  the  sea  was  not  frozen, 
but  the  tides  were  so  great  that  in  some  places  it 
swelled  twenty-six  fathoms  and  fell  as  much.'  The 
truth  is,  that  the  Thule  of  which  Ptolemy  speaks  lies 
where  he  says,  and  this  is  called  by  the  moderns  Frize- 
land."  Again  he  says :  "  1  have  followed  sea-faring  for 
twenty-three  years  without  being  on  shore  any  space 
of  time  worth  mentioning,  and  I  have  seen  all  the  East 
and  all    the  W(  st,  and  have  been  to  the  North  where 

'  Historie  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,    cap.  iv. 

*  Iceland  lies  between  63°  24'  and  66°  33'  north  latitude.  ■  ■'' 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


England  is  situated,  and  even  to  Giiinea."  He  also 
says  that  he  went  to  sea  when  fourteen  years  old,  and 
ever  after  that  led  a  sea-faringf  life' 

Among  the  motives  influencing  him  to  think  that 
he  could  sail  to  Cathay  by  the  way  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  were  the  statements  of  geographical  writers. 
By  them  it  was  said  "  that  a  great  part  of  the  globe 
had  already  been  travelled  over,  and  there  only  re- 
mained to  be  discovered  and  made  known  the  space 
lying  between  the  crstern  limits  oi  India,  known  to 
Ptolemy  and  Marinus,  and  the  West,  where  are  the 
islands  Azores*  and  those  of  Cape  Verd,^  the  most 
western   lands    yet   discovered.*     *     *     *     j-jg   ^qj^_ 


'  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,    cap.  iv.  - 

'  The  Azores  or  Western  Islands,  about  eight  hundred  miles  west  of  Portu- 
gal, lie  in  an  oblique  line,  northwest  and  southeast,  between  36°  50'  and  39° 
50'  north  latitude  and  24°  30'  and  31°  20'  west  longitude.  The  Azores,  fre- 
quently called  Terceiras,  were  discovered  in  1439  by  Josua  van  der  lierg,  a 
Flemish  merchant,  who  was  carried  in  his  ship  to  them  in  a  storm.  Thev  were 
named  Azores  from  the  number  of  goshawks  found  on  them.  They  were  not 
inhabited  when  discovered. 

•  The  Cape  Verd  Islands,  three  hundred  and  twenty  miles  west  of  Cape 
Verd  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  lie  between  14°  45'  and  17°  13'  north  latitude 
and  between  22°  45'  and  25°  25'  west  longitude. 

*  Clar.dius  Ptolernteuj,  an  Egyptian  astronomer  and  geographer,  lived,  in 
the  second  centuiy  at  Alexandria.  His  System  of  Geography,  {^lecoy pucpixrf 
^Acp7}yrj<Jl?,)  contained  in  eight  books,  was  a  standard  work  fcr  fourteen 
centuries.  During  the  first  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  twenty-one  editions 
of  the  geography,  with  editions  and  emendations,  were  published.  According  to 
Ptolemy,  all  the  known  part  of  the  earth,  from  the  first  meridian,  or  the  Canary 
Islands,  easrwardly,  on  the  parallel  of  Rnodes,  measured  seventy-two  thousand 
stadia,  or  one  hundred  and  eighty  dcrrees,  which  he  deemed  to  be  the  half  of  the 
circumference  of  the  globe.  But  'he  extert  he  was  acquainted  with  was  really 
measured  by  one  hundred  and  twenty  d  ,,.  ces,  which  made  the  circumference 
one  third  less  than  it  is. 

Marinus  of  Tyre,  a  Greek  geographer,  lived  about  150  A.D.  This  cos- 
mographer  supposed  that  the  country  Oi  the  Seres,  or  Sinae  (China),  the  far- 
thest part  of  India  known  to  the  ancients,  was  fifteen  hours,  by  the  course  of 
the  sun,  or  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  degrees  east  of  the  first  meridian  pass- 
ing through  the  Fortunate  (Canary)  Islands.  According  to  our  present  geo- 
graphical measurements,  the  distance  given  by  Marinus  was  not  more  than  jne 
hundred  and  thirty  degrees,  leaving  two  hundred  and  thirty  the  remaining 
distance  from  China  eastwardly  to  the  Canary  Islands.     Following  the  deduc- 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


n 


sidered  that  this  space,  lying  between  the  eastern  limits 
[of  India]  known  to   Marinus  and  the  islands  of  the 
Cape  Verd  group,  could  not  be  more  than  a  third  part 
of  the  great  circumference  of  the  globe,  since  Marinus 
had  gone  toward  the  East  fifteen  hour?  of  the  twenty- 
four   into   which   the   circumference    of  the   earth   is 
divided,  and  therefore  to  go  [still  farther  eastwardly] 
to  reach  the  Cape  Verd  Islands  there  were  nine  hours, 
[of  the  circumference  to  be  passed  over],  as  it  is  said 
that  Marinus  began  his  investigations  in  the  West.     * 
*     *     He  conceived   that   since    Marinus  had  given 
in   his   cosmography  aii  account  of  fifteen   hours  or 
parts  of  the  globe  eastwardly,  and  had  not  reached  the 
limits  of  the  East,  it  followed  that  its  bounds  must  be 
much  beyond,  and  consequently  the  farther  the  land  of 
the  East  exter:ded  eastwardly,  the  nearer  this  land  was 
to  the  Cape  Verd  Islands  in  the  West,  and  that  if  the 
space  were  chiefly  water  it  might  easily  be  sail  d  in  a 
few  days,  and  if  it  were  mainly  land  it  would  sooner 
be  discovered  by  sailing  westward,  because  it  would  be 
nearer  to  the  Cape   Verd    Islands.'     *     *     :»:     'pj^g 
fifth  reason,  which  induced  him  to  believe  that  the  dis- 
tance this  way  was  short,  was  the  opinion  of  Alfragra- 
nu3  and  his  followers,  who  make  the  <M''cumference  of 
the  globe  much  less  than  all  other  writers  and  cosmog- 

fions  of    Marinus,   there  were  only  one  hundred   and   thirty-five  degrees  of 
distance  between  China,  going  eastwardly,  and  the  Fortunate  Islands. 

'  "  Marinus,  the  Tyriaki,  misled  by  the  length  of  time  occupied  in  the  navi. 
gation  from  Myos  Hormos  to  India,  by  the  erroneously  assumed  direction  of  the 
major  axis  of  the  Caspian  from  west  to  east,  and  by  the  over-estimation  of  the 
length  of  the  land  route  to  the  country  of  the  Seres,  gave  the  old  coiitincnt  a 
breadth  of  225°,  instead  of  129°.  The  Chinese  coast  was  thus  advanced  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  Columbus  naturally  preferred  this  result  to  that  of 
Ptolemy,  according  to  which  Quinrny  should  have  been  found  in  the  meridian 
of  tho  eastern  part  of  the  arrhipelago  of  the  Carollnas.  Ptolemy,  in  the  A'ma- 
gest  (ii.  1),  places  the  coast  of  Sinas  at  180°,  and  in  his  Geography  (lib.  i.  cap. 
13)  at  I77i°." — Humboldt :  Cosmoj.   Otte's  trans,  vol.  ii.  p.  645.    Note. 


76 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


i       ^^ 


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4! 


raphers,  allowing  fifty-six  miles  and  two-thirds  to  a 
degree.'  Whence  he  inferred  that  as  the  entire  cir- 
cumference of  the  globe  was  of  such  an  extent,  tl  e 
third  part  was  small,  which  Marinus  left  unknown.  * 
*  *  And  Seneca,  in  his  first  book  of  nature,  who 
considers  the  knowledge  of  this  world  as  nothing  when 
compared  with  that  which  is  acquired  in  the  next  life, 
says  a  ship  may  sail  in  a  few  days  with  a  fair  wind  from 
the  coast  of  Spain  to  that  of  India.  And  if  it  be  true, 
as  some  believe,  that  Seneca  wrote  tragedies,  we  may 
infer  that  he  speaks  of  the  same  thing  in  the  chorus  of 
his  Medea: 

'  Venjent  annis 
Saecula  r,eris,  quibus  Oceanus 
Vincula  rerum  laxet,  et  ingens 
Pateat  tellus,  Typhysque  novos 
Detegat  orbes,  nee  sit  terris 
Ultima  Thule.' 

" '  In  the  last  years  there  will  come  an  age  in  which 
Ocean  shall  loosen  the  bonds  of  things  ;  and  a  great 
land  will  be  accessible  ;  and  another  Tiphys  shall  dis- 
cover new  worlds,  and  Thule  shall  no  longer  be  the 
extremity  of  the  earth.' "  This  prediction  may  be  con- 
sidered really  fulfilled  in  the  person  of  the  admiral. 
*  *  *  Marco  Polo,  the  Venetian,  and  John  Man- 
deville,  in  their  travels  say  that  they  went  much  farther 
eastward  than  Ptolemy  and  Marinus  mention,  who, 
although  they  do  not  speak  of  the  Eastern  Sea,  yet  by 

'  Alfraganius  or  Al  Fergani,  an  Arabian  astronomer,  lived  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  ninth  century.  ,  :■_■;  < 

'Medea,  act.  ii. 

Lucius  Annaeus  Seneca,  a  Stoic  philosopher  and  tragic  poet,  was  born  at 
Corduba,  Spain,  about  5  B.C.,  and  died  65  a.d. 

Tiphys  was  the  name  of  the  pilot  of  the  ship  of  the  Argonauts. 

Thule,  an  island  in  the  extreme  part  of  Northern  Europe,  as  known  in  the 
time  of  Ptolemy.  The  island  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  the  Shetland 
Islands,  by  others  the  Faroe  group,  and  by  others  Iceland. 


,  !|, 


^i 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


77 


the  account  they  give  of  the  East  it  may  be  assumed 
that  India  is  not  far  distant  from  Africa  and  Spain."' 

Ferdinand  Columbus  further  says  that  his  father 
expected  to  find,  "before  he  came  to  India,  a  very 
convenient  island  or  continent,  from  which  'le  might 
pursue  with  more  advantage  his  main  design.  This 
hope  was  grounded  upon  the  statements  of  many  wise 
men  and  philosophers,  who  believed  that  the  greatest 
part  of  this  terraqueous  globe  was  land,  or  that  there 
was  more  land  than  water,  which,  if  true,  he  assumed 
that  between  the  coast  of  Spain  and  the  limits  of  India 
then  known,  there  were  many  islands  and  a  consic'era- 
ble  extent  of  main-land.  *  *  *  A  pilot  of  the  king 
of  Portugal,  named  Martin  Vicente,  told  him  that,  being 
at  one  time  four  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  westward  of 
Cape  St.  Vincent,  he  found  and  picked  up  in  the  sea  a 
piece  of  wood  ingeniously  carved,  but  not  with  iron, 
which  led  him  to  believe,  as  the  wind  bad  been  blowing 
from  the  west  for  several  days,  that  the  piece  of  v/ood 
had  drifted  from  some  island  lying  toward  the  west. 
Then  one  Pedro  Correa,  who  had  married  the  sister  of 
the  admiral's  wife,  told  him  that  at  the  island  of  Porto 
Santo"  he  had  seen  another  piece  of  wood,  brought  by 
the  same  winds,  as  nicely  carved  as  the  piece  already 
mentioned,  and  that  canes  had  been  found  there  so 
thick  that  each  joint  would  hold  more  than  four  quarts 
of  wine,  which  reports  he  said  he  communicated  to  the 
king  of  Portugal  while  talking  to  him  about  these 
matters.  The  pieces  of  cane  were ,  shown  to  him. 
There  being  no  place  in  our  parts  where  such  v-ane 
grew,  he  inferred  it  to  be  true  that  the  wind  had 
brought  the  cane  from  some  neighboring  islands  or  else 
from  India.     For   Ptolemy,   in   the  first  book  of  his 

'  Historie  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  vi,  vii. 

*  Porto  Santo,  a  small  island  northeast  of  the  island  of  Madeira. 


m 


78 


DISCOVERIES   OF    AMERICA. 


'  it 


If' 


geography,  in  the  seventeenth  chapter,  says  there  is 
such  cane  in  the  eastern  parts  of  India.  And  some  of 
the  people  living  on  the  islands,  particularly  on  the 
Azores,  told  him  that  when  the  west  wind  blew  for  a 
long  time  the  sea  drifted  some  pieces  of  pine-wood 
upon  those  islands,  particularly  on  the  islands  Gratiosa 
and  Fayal,  there  being  no  pine-wood  in  all  those  parts, 
and  that  the  sea  cast  upon  the  island  of  Flores,  another 
of  the  Azores,  the  bodies  of  two  dead  men,  who  were 
very  broad -faced  and  different  in  appearance  from  Chris- 
tians. At  Cape  Verd  and  thereabouts  they  said  that 
they  once  saw  some  covered  cances  or  boats  which  the 
people  believed  were  driven  there  by  stress  of  weather 
while  the  persons  in  them  were  going  from  one  island 
to  another.  Nor  were  these  the  only  grounds  he  then 
had  which  seemed  reason?ble,  for  there  were  those 
who  told  him  that  they  had  seen  some  islands  in  the 
western  ocean.  *  *  *  These  persons  he  did  not 
believe,  because  he  discovered  from  their  own  words 
and  statements  that  they  had  not  sailed  one  hundred 
leagues  to  the  westward,  and  that  they  had  been  de- 
ceived by  some  rocks,  thinking  them  to  be  islands  ;  c  r 
else,  perhaps,  they  were  some  of  those  floating  islands 
which  are  drifted  about  by  the  waves,  and  which  the 
sailors  call  aguados.      *     *     * 

"  He  says,  moreover,  that  in  the  year  1484,  a  man 
came  to  Portugal  from  the  island  of  Madera '  to  beg  a 
caraval  of  the  king  to  discover  a  country  which  he  af- 
firmed he  saw  every  year,  and  always  after  the  same 
manner,  he  agreeing  with  others  who  said  they  had 
seen  the  island  from  the  Azores.     On  this  account  the 

'  The  island  of  Madeira  (Wood)  lies  off  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  between 
32°  37'  and  32°  52'  north  latitude  and  i6°  38'  and  17°  16'  west  longitude.  It  is 
thirty-four  miles  long.  The  island  of  Porto  Santo  is  twenty-five  miles  north- 
cast  of  it. 


'.  ' 


DISCOVEFUES  OF  AMERICA. 


79 


Portuguese  placed  some  islands  thereabouts  on  the 
chartij  and  maps  made  at  that  time  ;  and  r  'so  because 
Aristotle,  in  his  book  of  wonderful  things,  affirms  that 
it  was  reported  that  some  Carthaginian  merchants  had 
sailed  over  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  a  most  fruitful  island. 
*  *  *  This  island  the  Portuguese  inserted  in  their 
maps,  calling  it  Antilla,  and  though  they  did  not  give 
it  the  same  situation  designated  by  Aristotle,  yet  none 
placed  it  more  than  two  hundred  leagues  due  west  from 
the  Canaries  and  the  Azores.  Some  believe  it  to  be 
the  island  of  the  SeVen  Cities  peopled  by  the  Portu- 
guese at  the  time  that  Spain  was  conquered  by  the 
Moors,  in  714,  at  which  time,  they  say,  seven  bishops 
with  their  people  embarked  and  sailed  to  this  island, 
v/here  each  of  them  built  a  city  ;  and  in  order  that 
none  of  their  people  might  think  of  returning  to  Spain, 
they  burnt  the  ships,  tackle,  and  all  things  necessary 
for  sailing.'     *     *     *     jj-  ^^^g  ^\^q  g^j^^  ^^^^^  jj^  ^j^^ 

time  of  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal,  a  Portuguese  ship 
was  driven  by  stress  of  weather  to  this  island  of  Antilla, 
v'here  the  men  went  on  shore,  and  were  conducted  by 
the  islanders  to  their  church  to  learn  whether  or  not 
they  were  Christians  and  acquainted  with  the  Roman 
ccemonies.  After  perceiving  that  they  were,  the  people 
of  the  island  importuned  them  to  remain  till  their  king 
came,  who  was  then  absent,  and  who  would  be  de- 
lighted to  see  them  and  would  give  them  many  pres- 
ents. *  *  *  But  the  master  and  the  seamen  were 
afraid  of  being  detained,  suspecting  these  people  did 
not  wish  to  be  discovered  and  might  for  this  reason 
burn  their  ship.  "  ' 

'Various  fictions  were  current  in  the  middle  ages  respecting  the  situation 
of  the  island  of  the  Seven  Cities,  and  a  number  of  expeditions  went  in  search 
of  it  with  unsuccessful  results.  Mercator,  Ortelius,  and  Locke  place  the  island 
in  28°  north  latitude. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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"  On  this  account  they  returned  to  Portugal,  hoping 
to  be  rewarded  by  the  prince  for  what  they  had  done. 
He  reproved  them  severely  and  bid  them  return  at 
once  to  the  island,  but  the  master  through  fear  ran 
away  from  Portugal  with  the  ship  and  men.  It  is  re- 
ported that  while  the  seamen  were  at  church  on  the 
island  the  ship-boys  gathered  sand  for  the  cook-room, 
the  third  part  of  which  they  found  to  be  pure  gold. 
*  *  *  Seneca,  in  his  fourth  book,  tells  us  that 
rhucydides '  speaks  of  an  Island  called  Atlantica, 
which  in  the  time  of  the  Peloponnesian  war  was  en- 
tirely, or  the  greater  part  of  it,  submerged  ;  whereof 
Plato  also  makes  mention  in  his  Timaeus."" 

While  Columbus  resided  at  Lisbon  obtaining  infor- 
mation from  geographers  and  seamen  respecting  the 
feasibility  of  sailing  westward  to  Cathay,  he  entered 
into  correspondence  with  Paolo  Toscanelli,  a  Florentine 
physician  and  astronomer.^  The  latter  sent  him  a  copy 
of  a  letter  which  he  had  written  in  Latin  to  Ferdinand 
Martinez,  a  prebendary  of  Lisbon.  The  communica- 
tion addressed  to  Columbus,  is  dated  Florence,  June 
25,  1474.     As  translated  the  letter  is  as  follows  : 

"  To  Christopher  Colon,  Paul,  the  physician,  wishes 
health.      ■■    "  ;'\  .    ■"-;  -     ;-■  ■  ^.  ■  ^.  .,-.■,         .,-:^... 

"  I  apprehend  your  noble  and  earnest  desire  to  sail 
to  those  parts  where  spices  grow,  and  therefore,  in 
answer  to  your  letter,  I  send  another,  which  some  time 

'Thucydides,  a  Greek  historian,  born  B.C.  471.  •'  •>(  w^  ,  * 

"Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  ix,  x. 

• "  Paolo  Toscanelli  was  so  greatly  distinguished  as  an  astronomer  that 
Behaim's  teacher,  Regiomontanus,  dedicated  to  him,  in  1463,  his  work,  Da 
Quadratura  Circuit,  directed  against  the  Cardinal  Nicolaus  de  Cusa,  He  con- 
structed the  great  gnomon  in  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  Novella  at  Florence, 
and  died  in  1482,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five,  without  having  lived  long  enough  to 
enjoy  the  pleasure  of  learning  the  discovery  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  by  Diaz, 
and  of  the  tropical  part  of  the  new  continent  by  Columbus." — Humboldt : 
Cosmos.    Otte's  trans,     vol.  ii.    p.  644.    Note. 


H 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


8i 


ago  I  wrote  to  a  friend  of  mine,  in  the  service  of  the 
king  of  Portugal,  before  the  wars  of  Castile,  in  answer 
to  one  he  wrote  me  by  his  highness's  command,  upon 
the  same  subject.  I  also  send  you  a  sea-chart  similar 
to  the  one  I  sent  him,  which  may  satisfy  your  inquiries. 
The  copy  of  that  letter  is  the  following  : 

'  "  To  Ferdinand  Martinez,  canon  of  Lisbon,  Paul, 
the  physician,  wishes  health. 

-  "I  am  gratified  to  hear  of  your  intimacy  with  the 
most  s";rene  and  magnificent  king.  Although  I  have 
often  spoken  of  the  short  distance  by  water  from  here 
to  the  Indies  where  spices  grow,  which  way,  in  my 
opinion,  is  shorter  than  that  taken  along  the  coast  of 
Guinea,  yet  you  inform  me  that  his  highness  would  have 
me  explain  and  demonstrate  it  in  order  that  it  may  be 
comprehended  and  tested.  Although  I  could  better 
elucidate  the  configuration  of  the  earth  with  a  globe  in 
my  hand,  nevertheless,  I  will  make  the  matter  more  easy 
and  intelligible  by  exhibiting  the  route  on  such  a  chart 
as  is  used  in  navigation.  I  therefore  send  one  to  his 
majesty,  made  and  drawn  with  my  own  hand,  on  which 
are  delineated  the  extreme  limits  of  the  West,  from  Ice- 
land, in  the  north,  to  the  farthest  part  of  Guinea,  in  the 
south,  with  all  the  intermediate  islands.  Opposite,  in 
the  West,  the  beginning  of  the  Indies  is  delineated, 
with  the  islands  and  places  to  which  you  may  go, 
representing  how  far  you  may  steer  from  ^he  north  pole 
toward  the  equator,  and  for  how  long  a  time,  that  is,  how 
many  leagues  you  may  sail  before  you  come  to  those 
places  where  are  to  be  found  all  kinds  of  spices  and 
precious  stones.  Do  not  think  it  strange  if  I  call  the 
country  where  spices  grow  West,  since  they  are  general- 
ly known  to  be  produced  in  the  East,  because  those  who 
shall  sail  westward  will  always  find  those  places  in  the 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


west,  and  they  who  travel  by  land  eastward,  will  always 
find  those  places  in  the  east.  The  straight  lines  which 
are  drawn  lengthwise  on  the  chart  show  the  distance 
from  west  to  east  and  those  which  cross  the  former 
show  the  distance  from  north  to  south.  I  have  also 
marked  down  on  the  chart  several  places  in  the  Indies 
where  ships  might  put  in  during  a  storm  or  contrary 
winds,  or  any  other  unlooked-ior  accident.  Moreover, 
to  give  you  ample  information  concerning  all  the  places 
of  which  you  desire  to  know  something,  you  must 
understand  that  only  traders  live  or  reside  on  these 
islands,  and  that  you  will  find  there  as  large  a  number 
of  ships  and  sea-faring  people  engaged  in  merchandizing 
as  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  particularly  in  the 
famous  port  of  the  city  called  Zacton,  where,  every 
year,  a  hundred  large  ships  carrying  pepper,  are  loaded 
and  unloaded,  besides  many  other  vessels  freighted 
with  different  kinds  of  spices. '  This  country  is  an  ex- 
ceedingly populous  one,  and  there  are  many  provinces, 
kingdoms,  and  innumerable  cities  in  it  under  the  rule 
of  a  sovereign  called  the  Grand  Khan,  signifying  king 
of  kings,  who  generally  resides  in  the  province  of 
Cathay.  His  predecessors  greatly  desired  to  have  the 
commerce  and  the  friendship  of  Christians,  and  two 
hundred  years  ago  they  sent  embassadors  to  the  pope, 
to  ask  him  to  send  them  many  learned  men  and  doctors 
to  teach  them  our  religion,  but  on  account  of  some 
obstacles  the  embassadors  met  with,  they  returned 
without  coming  to  Rome.     Besides,  there   came   an 

'  Zacton,  in  China,  is  now  called  Tsiuenchau.  "  At  this  city  "  says  Marco 
Polo,  "  is  the  haven  of  Zayton,  frequented  by  all  of  the  ships  from  India, 
*  *  *  and  by  all  the  merchants  of  Manzi,  for  hither  is  imported  the  most 
astonishing  quantity  of  goods  and  of  precious  stones  and  pearls.  *  *  • 
For  it  is  one  of  the  two  greatest  havens  in  the  world  for  commerce." — Ser 
Marco  Polo.  Yule.  Seconded,  vol.  ii.  p.  186.  OnRuysch'smapof  1508,  Zaiton 
is  placed  on  the  east  coast  of  China,  west  of  the  island  of  Cuba.     Vide  map. 


. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


83 


embassador  to  Pope  Eugene  IV.,  who  informed  him  of 
the  great  affection  which  their  princes  and  people  bore 
toward  the  Christians.  I  talked  w';;h  him  a  loner  time 
concerning  the  magnificence  of  the  royal  palaces,  the 
greatness  of  the  country,  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
rivers.  He  told  me  many  wonderful  things  respecting 
a  great  number  of  towns  and  cities  built  on  the  banks 
of  the  rivers,  and  that  there  were  two  hundred  cities  on 
a  single  river,  with  marble  bridges  over  it  of  great 
length  and  breadth,  and  sustained  by  many  pillars. 
This  country  deserves  to  be  made  known  as  well  as  any 
other,  and  there  may  not  only  be  great  protits  realized 
and  many  things  of  value  obtained,  but  also  gold,  silver, 
all  kinds  of  precious  stones,  and  spices  in  abundance, 
which  are  not  brought  into  our  parts.  And  it  is  certain 
that  many  wise  men,  philosophers,  astronomers,  and 
other  persons  skilled  in  the  arts,  and  very  ingenious 
men  govern  this  vast  country  and  command  its  armies. 
On  the  chart,  from  Lisbon  directly  westward  to  the 
great  and  famous  city  of  Quisay,  are  twenty-six  spaces, 
each  measuring  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  The  city 
is  one  hundred  miles,  or  thirty-five  leagues  in  circuit, 
and  within  its  limits  are  ten  marble  bridges.  The  name 
Quisay  signifies  city  of  heaven.'  Wonderful  things 
are  reported  of  the  ingenuity  of  its  inhabitants,  its  build- 
ings and  revenues.  The  space  previously  mentioned 
is  almost  a  third  part  of  the  circumference  of  the  globe.' 

'  The  city  is  now  called  Hangchau,  and  is  in  the  province  of  Chehkiang. 
As  described  by  Marco  Polo,  the  city  was  "the  finest  and  the  noblest  in  the 
world." — Ser  Marco  Polo.  Yule.  Second  ed.  vol.  ii.  p.  145.  Quinsai 
on  Ruysch's  map  of  1508,  is  norlhwest  of  Zaiton. 

'  Antonio  Pigafetta,  in  his  Treatise  on  navigation,  written  about  the  year 
1523,  says :  "  The  circumference  of  the  earth  is  supposed  to  be  divided  into  * 
three  hundred  and  sixty  degrees,  and  to  each  degree  are  assigned  seventeen 
leagues  and  a  half  ;  the  circumference  of  the  earth  is  consequently  six  thousand 
three  hundred  leagues.  The  land  league  is  three  miles,  the  sea  league  is 
four." — MS,  in  Ambrosian  library,  Milan. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


The  city  Is  in  the  province  of  Mango,  bordcrincf  on  that 
of  Cathay,  where  the  king  usually  resides.  From  the 
island  Antilla  (which  you  call  the  Seven  Cities,  and  of 
which  you  have  some  knowledge),  to  the  great  island 
of  Cipango,'  are  ten  spaces,  which  include  two  thousand 
five  hundred  miles,  or  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
leagues."  The  island  abounds  with  gold,  pearls,  and 
precious  stones  ;  and  you  should  know  that  they  cover 
their  temples  and  palaces  with  plates  ot  pure  gold.  All 
these  things  are  hidden  and  concealed,  because  the 
way  to  them  is  unknown,  and  yet  it  may  be  sailed  with 
safety. 

"  Much  more  might  be  said,  but  having  told  you 
that  which  is  most  important,  and  as  you  are  learned 
and  have  good  judgment,  I  am  satisfied  that  you  will 
understand  what  I  have  written  without  my  adding 
any  thing  further  to  these  statements.     This  may  sat- 

'  cipango  (Japan),  now  called  by  the  natives  Dai  Nippon  or  Dai  Nihon,  is 
a  group  of  islands  lying  between  the  twenty-third  and  fiftieth  parallels  of  north 
latitude  and  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-second  and  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
third  meridians  of  east  longitude. 

*  From  Lisbon,  Spain,  in  38°  42'  north  latitude  and  g°  8'  west  longitude 
(first  meridian  at  Greenwich),  to  Tokio,  Japan,  in  35°  40'  north  latitude  and 
139°  40'  east  longitude,  the  westward  distance  is  about  eleven  thousand  six 
hundred  statute  miles  ;  and  from  Lisbon  to  Pekinj^',  China,  in  39°  56'  north 
latitude  and  116°  27'  cast  longitude,  about  twelve  thousand  one  hundred 
miles.  From  Liverpool,  England,  to  New  York,  on  the  sailing  route,  the  dis- 
tance is  about  three  thousand  and  twenty-three  miles,  and  from  New  York  to 
Canton,  China,  via  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  the  Sandwich  Islands,  the  dis- 
tance is  about  ten  thousand  six  hundred  miles. 

"  As  the  old  continent,  from  f'.ie  western  extremity  of  the  Iberian  peninsula 
[Portugal],  to  the  coast  of  ChiUd,  comprehends  almost  130°  of  longitude,  there 
remain  about  230°  for  the  distance  which  Columbus  would  have  had  to  traverse 
if  he  wished  to  reach  Cathai  (China);  but  less  if  he  only  desired  to  reach  Zipangi 
(Japan),  This  difference  of  230°,  which  T  have  indicated,  depends  on  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Portuguese  Cape  St.  Vincent  (11°  20'  W.  of  Paris),  and  the  far 
projecting  part  of  the  Chinese  coast,  near  the  then  celebrated  port  of  Quinsay,  so 
often  named  by  Columbus  and  Toscanelli  (lat.  30°  28',  long,  117°  47'  E.  of 
Paris).  *  ♦  *  The  distance  of  Cape  St.  Vincent  from  Zipangi  (Niphon)  is 
22°  of  longitude  less  than  Quinsay,  therefore  about  209°  instead  of  230°  53'." 
—  Humboldt :  Cosmos.    Otto's  trans,    vol.  ii.    p.  264.    Note. 


ii! 


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of 


DISCOVERIES  OF   AMERICA. 


85 


isfy  your  curiosity,  it  being  as  much  as  my  time  and 
business  permit  me  now  to  wri;;e.  However,  I  remain 
ever  ready  to  satisfy  and  serve  his  highness  to  the 
utmost  in  all  the  commands  that  he  sha.'l  lay  upon 
me." ' 

"  The  admiral,  nc  w  believing  that  his  opinion  was 
excellently  well  grounded,"  says  Ferdinand  Columbus, 
'•  resolved  to  be  governed  by  it,  and  to  sail  across 
the  western  ocean  in  quest  of  those  countries.  But 
being  aware  that  such  an  undertaking  was  only  becom- 
ing a  monarch  to  espouse  and  to  accomplish,  he  deter- 
mined to  propose  it  to  the  king  of  Portugal,  because 
he  was  the  latter's  subject.  And  though  King  John, 
then  reigning,  gave  ear  to  the  admiral's  proposals,  yet 
he  hesitated  to  accept  them  on  account  of  the  great 
burden  and  expense  attending  the  exploration  and 
conquest  of  the  western  coa^  ♦  of  Africa,  called  Guinea. 
Little  success  had  thus  far  .e warded  this  undertaking, 
nor  had  he  been  able  to  double  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  which  name,  some  say,  was  given  it  instead  of 
Agesingue,  its  proper  designation,  because  that  was 
the  farthest  they  hoped  to  extend  their  explorations 
and  conquests,  or,  as  others  will  have  it,  because  this 
cape  gave  them  the  expectation  of  better  countries  and 
navigation.  However,  the  king  had  but  little  inclina- 
tion to  invest  any  more  money  in  discoveries  ;  and  if 
he  gave  any  attention  to  the  admiral,  it  was  in  conse- 
quence of  the  excellent  reasons  he  advanced  to  support 
his  opinion,  which  arguments  so  far  convinced  the  king 
that  he  had  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  accept  or  to 
reject  the  terms  which  the  admiral  proposed.  For  the 
admiral,  being  a  noble  and  magnanimous  man,  wished 
to  make  an  agreement  that  would  be  of  some  personal 

*  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap,  viii. 


i 


^:tv'iSi 


Ml 


E>-'   I 


86 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


benefit  and  honor  to  himself,  so  that  he  would  leave 
behind  him  a  notable  reputation  and  a  respected  family, 
such  as  became  his  achievements  and  memory.  For 
this  reason  the  king,  by  the  advice  of  one  Doctor 
Cazadilla,'  whom  he  greatly  es^^^oemed,  determined  to 
send  a  caravel  secredy  to  attempt  that  which  the  ad- 
miral had  proposed  to  him  ;  for  if  those  countries  were 
in  this  way  discovered,  he  thought  that  he  would  not 
be  obliged  to  bestow  any  great  reward  which  might  be 
demanded.  Having  quickly  equipped  a  caravel,  he 
sent  it  the  way  the  admiral  had  proposed  to  <jo,  for  the 
vessel  was  carrying  supplies  to  the  islands  of  the  Cape 
Verd  group.  But  those  he  sent  had  net  the  knowledge, 
perseverance,  and  energy  of  the  admiral.  After  wan- 
dering many  days  on  the  sea,  they  turned  back  to  the 
islands  of  Cape  Verd,  laughing  at  the  undertaking,  and 
saying  that  it  was  unreasonabj'  o  think  there  should 
be  any  land  in  those  waters,  'i  ais  being  told  to  the 
admiral,  *  *  *  he  determined  tj  go  to  Castile 
[Spain].  *  *  *  gyj.  fearing  that,  if  the  king  of 
Castile  should  not  favor  his  undertaking,  he  would  be 
forced  to  propose  it  to  some  other  monarch,  thereby 
consuming  much  time,  he  sent  his  brother  Bartolom^ 
Columbus,  who  was  with  him,  to  England.  *  *  * 
On  his  way  to  England,  Bartolome  happened  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  pirates,  who  stripped  him  and  his 
companions.  For  this  reason,  and  being  sick  and  poor 
in  that  country,  it  was  a  long  time  before  he  could 
deliver  his  message.  It  v/as  not  until  lie  had  obtained 
•^OiriG  money  by  making  sea-charts  that  he  began  to 
make  certain  proposals  to  King  Henry  VII.,  then 
reigning,  to  whom  he  presented  a  map  of  the  world. 
The  ki.ig  of  England,  having  seen  the  map 

'  Dief^o  Ortiz  de  Cazadilla,  bishop  of  Ctiuta. 


«       ^. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


87 


and  heard  what  the  admiral  offered  to  do  for  him, 
readily  accepted  the  overture  and  ordered  him  to  be 
sent  for.     *     *     * 

"  I  will  not  now  relate  how  Bartolomd  Columbus 
conducted  hin^jelf  in  England,  but  will  return  to  the 
admiral,  who,  about  the  end  of  the  year  1484,  stole  se- 
cretly out  of  Portugal  with  his  son  Diego  for  fear  of 
being  detained  by  the  king  ;  for  the  king  having  seen 
how  unsuited  they  were  whom  he  had  sent  with  the  car- 
avel, was  inclined  to  restore  the  admiral  to  his  favor,  and 
desired  that  he  should  renew  his  proposals ;  but  the 
kinjr  was  not  as  easier  to  undertake  their  consideration 
as  the  admiral  was  to  get  away  ;  therefore  the  Icing 
lost  th?t  good  opportunity  and  the  admi»'al  entered 
Castile  to  try  his  fortune  which  was  there  to  favor  him. 
Leaving  his  sf  *n  a  monastery,  callea  La  Rabida,  near 
Palos,  he  went  at  once  to  the  court  of  the  catholic 
king,  which  was  then  at  Cordova,  where,  being  affr  Ae 
and  an  entertaining  talker,  he  made,  friends  of  such 
persons  as  were  most  favorably  inclined  to  his  under- 
taking and  fitted  to  persuade  the  king  to  espouse  it. 
Among  these  was   Luis  de   Santangel,  an   Aragonian 
gentleman,  clerk  of  the  allowances  in  the  king's  house- 
hold, a  man  of  great  pudence  and  reputation.     As  the 
undertaking  demanded  an  examination  by  enlightened 
men,  and  not  meaningless  words  and  favor,  their  high- 
nesses intrusted  the  matter  to  the  prior  of  Prado,  after- 
ward prchbishop   of  Granada,  and  ordered    him,  to- 
gether with  some  cosmographers,  to  make  a  thorough 
investigation  of  the  project  and  to  report  their  opinions 
respecting  it.'     But  there  was  only  a  small  number  of 
cosmographers  at  that  time,  and  those  who  were  called 
together  were  not  as  enlightened  as  they  should  have 

■  This  conclave  of  the  learned   men  of  Spain  held  its  meetings  in  the 
Dominican  convant  of  St.  Stephen,  in  Salamaaca. 


'Si  J 

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88 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


been,  nor  would  the  admiral  wholly  explain  his  plans, 
for  fear  'he  might  be  served  as  he  had  been  in 
Portugal  and  be  deprived  of  his  reward.  For  this 
reason  the  answers  they  gave  their  highnesses  were  as 
diftcrent  as  their  judgments  and  opinions.  Some  said 
that  inasmuch  as  no  information  concerning  those 
countries  had  been  obtained  by  the  great  number  of 
experienced  sailors  living  since  the  creation,  which  was 
many  thousand  years  ago,  it  was  not  likely  that  the 
admiral  should  know  more  than  all  the  seamen  that 
were  living  or  that  had  lived  before  that  time.  Others, 
who  were  more  influenced  by  cosmographical  reasons, 
said  the  world  was  so  prodigiously  great  that  it 
was  incredible  that  a  voyage  of  three  years  would  carry 
him  to  the  end  of  the  East,  where  he  proposed  to  go, 
and  to  substantiate  this  opinion  they  brought  forward 
the  statement  of  Seneca,  who,  in  one  of  his  works,  by 
way  of  argument,  asserts  that  many  wise  men  disagreed 
about  this  question,  whether  or  not  the  ocean  were 
boundless,  and  doubted  if  it  could  be  traversed ;  and 
if  it  were  navigable,  whether  habitable  lands  would  be 
found  on  the  other  side  of  the  globe,  and  whether  they 
could  be  reached.  They  added  that  only  a  small  part 
of  this  terraqueous  globe  was  mhabited.  and  that  this 
was  in  our  hemisphere,  and  that  all  the  remainder  was 
sea,  and  only  navigable  near  the  coasts  and  rivers. 

Some  admitted  that  learned  men  said  it  was  pos- 
sible to  sail  from  the  coast  of  Spain  to  the  farthest 
part  of  the  West.  Others  argued,  as  the  Portuguese 
had  done,  nbout  sailing  to  Guinea,  saying  that  if  any 
man  shoul  sail  directly  westward,  as  the  admiral  pro- 
posed, tha  he  would  not  be  able  to  return  to  Spain  on 
account  of  the  roundness  of  ihe  globe,  confidently  be- 
lieving that  whosoever  should  go  out  of  the  hemisphere 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


89 


known  to  Ptolemy  would  go  downward,  and  that  then 
it  would  be  impossible  to  return,  affirming  that  it  would 
be  like  climbing  a  hill,  which  ships  could  not  accom- 
plish in  the  stiffest  gale.  Although  the  admiral  prop- 
erly answered  all  these  objections,  yet  the  more  cogent 
his  explanations  were  the  less  they  comprehended  him 
on  account  of  their  ignorance,  for  when  a  man  grows 
familiar  with  false  principles  in  mathematics  for  a  long 
time  he  cannot  perceive  the  true,  because  of  the  erro- 
neous impressions  which  were  first  imprinted  on  his 
mind.  In  short,  all  of  these  men  were  governed  by 
the  Spanish  saying,  St.  Augustine  doubts  it ;  for  this 
holy  man,  in  his  twenty-first  book,  chapter  ninth,  on 
the  city  of  God,  asserts  and  considers  that  it  is  un- 
reasonable to  believe  that  there  are  antipodes,  or  any 
passage  from  one  hemisphere  to  another.' 

'  "  But  as  to  the  fa.ile  that  there  are  antipodes — that  is  to  say,  men  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  earth,  where  the  sun  rises  when  it  sets  to  us — men  who 
walk  with  their  feet  opposite  ours,  that  is  on  no  ground  credible.  And,  indeed, 
it  is  not  afHrmed  that  this  has  been  Ifarned  by  historical  knowledge,  but  by 
scientific  conjecture,  on  the  ground  that  the  earth  is  suspended  within  the  con- 
cavity of  the  sky,  and  that  it  has  as  much  room  on  the  one  side  of  it  as  on  the 
other ;  hence  they  say  that  the  part  which  is  beneath  must  be  iuhabited.  But  they 
do  not  remark  that,  although  it  be  supposed  or  scientifically  demonstrated  that 
the  world  is  of  a  round  and  spherical  form,  yet  it  does  not  follow  that  the  other 
side  of  the  earth  is  bare  of  water ;  nor  even,  though  it  be  bare,  does  it  imme- 
diately follow  tl.at  it  is  peopled.  For  Scripture,  which  proves  the  truth  of  its 
historical  statements  by  the  accomplishment  of  its  prophecies,  gives  no  false 
information  ;  and  it  is  too  absurd"  to  say  th-xt  some  men  might  have  taken  ship 
and  traversed  the  whole  wide  ocean,  and  crossed  from  this  side  of  the  world  to 
the  other,  and  that  thus  even  the  inhabitants  of  that  distant  region  are  de- 
scended from  the  first  man." — Sancti  Aurelii  Augustini  Ilipponensis  episcopi 
operum.  Tomus  Septimus,  Antwerpia:.  1700.  De  Civiiate  Dei.  lib.  xvi. 
cap.  ix.  The  works  of  Aurelius  Augustine,  bishop  of  Hippo.  Trans,  by  the 
Rev.  Marcus  Dods.     Edinburgh.    1871. 

Lactflntius,  another  theologian,  in  the  fourth  century,  argued  in  the  same 
way  :  "  Is  it  possible  that  men  can  be  so  absurd  as  to  believe  that  the  plants  and 
trees  on  the  other  side  of  the  earth  hang  downward,  and  that  men  there  have 
their  feet  higher  than  their  heads  ?  If  you  ask  of  them  how  they  defend  these 
monstrosities,  how  things  do  not  fall  away  from  the  earth  on  that  side,  they  reply 
that  the  nature  of  things  is  such  that  heavy  bodies  tend  toward  the  centre,  like 
the  spokcs  of  a  wheel,  while  light  bodies,  as  clouds,  smoke,  fire,  tend  from  the 


'■  ! 


. 


i 


I. 


';  I 


fi 


I' 


i 


! 


-^ 


f    i! 


90 


DISCOVERIES   OF   AMERICA. 


"They  further  opposed  th'^  arguments  of  the  ad- 
miral by  quoting  those  current  fables  respecting  the 
five  zones,  and  other  fictions,  which  they  believed  were 
true.  They  therefore  determined  to  condemn  the  en- 
terprise as  foolish  and  impracticable,  and  to  declare 
that  it  did  not  become  the  state  and  dignity  of  such 
great  sovereigns  to  be  misled  by  such  weak  informa- 
tion. Therefore,  after  much  time  had  been  spent  in 
considering  the  project,  their  highnesses  answered  the 
admiral  that  they  were  then  engaged  in  too  many  wars 
and  conquests,  and  especially  in  the  conquest  of 
Granada,  which  was  then  occupying  their  attention, 
and  therefore  it  was  not  convenient  for  them  to  espouse 
this  new  enterprise  at  that  time ;  nevertheless,  another 
opportunity  might  be  given  them  when  they  could 
more  satisfactorily  examine  and  accomplish  that  which 
he  proposed." ' 

Chagrined  as  he  may  have  been  by  this  second 
disappointment,  Columbus,  with  that  noble  enthusiasm 
which  the  personal  consciousness  of  being  in  the  right 
begets,  "determined  to  apply  to  the  king  of  France, 
to  whom  he  had  already  written  concerning  the 
project,  intending,  if  he  were  not  admitted  to  an  audi- 
ence there,  to  go  to  England  afterward  to  search  for  his 
brother,  from  whom  he  had  not  yet  received  any  intelli- 
gence. With  this  resolution  he  set  out  for  the  monas- 
tery of  La  Rabida,  to  send  his  son  Diego,  whom  he 
had  left  there,  to  Cordova,  and  then  proceed  on  his 
journey.  But  in  order  that  the  thing  which  God  had 
decreed  should  come  to  pass,  it  was  put  in  the  heart  of 
Friar  Juan  Perez,  guardian  of  that  house,  to  befriend  the 

centre  toward  the  heavens  on  all  sides.     Now  I  am  really  at  a  loss  what  to  say 
of  those  vho,  when  they  have  once  gone  wrong,  steadily  persevere  in  their  folly 
and  defend  one  absui'd  opinion  by  another." — Div.  Institutiones.     lib.  iii, 
*  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     tap.  xi,  xii. 


;';>  y 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


91 


say 
lolly 


admiral,  and  to  be  so  captivated  with  his  project  that  he 
became  deeply  concerned  respecting  his  resolution  and 
the  loss  Spain  would  sustain  by  his  departure.  There- 
fore he  entreated  the  admiral  not  to  proceed  any  far- 
ther, for  he  would  himself  go  to  the  queen,  hoping 
that,  as  he  was  her  father-confessor,  she  would  be  gov- 
erned by  what  he  should  say  to  her.  Although  the  ad- 
miral was  disappointed  and  disgusted  with  the  discred- 
itable action  and  judgment  of  the  counsellors  of  their 
highnesses,  yet,  being  01.  the  other  hand  very  desirous 
that  Spain  should  leap  the  benefits  of  his  undertaking, 
he  complied  with  the  friar's  desire  and  request,  for  he 
considered  himself  a  Spaniard,  as  he  had  long  resided 
in  Spain  prosecuting  hir  undertaking  and  had  begotten 
children  there,  which  was  the  reason  for  his  rejection  of 
the  offers  made  him  by  other  sovereigns,  as  he  declares 
in  a  letter  written  to  their  highnesses  [of  Spain]  in  these 
words :  "  That  I  might  serve  your  highnesses,  I  have 
refused  to  undertake  with  France,  England,  and  Portu- 
gal ;  the  letters  from  the  sovereigns  of  which  your 
highnesses  may  see  in  the  hands  of  Doctor  Villalan." 

"  The  admiral  departed  with  Friar  Juan  Perez  from 
the  monastery  of  La  Rabida,  near  Palos,  and  went  to 
the  camp  of  Santa  F6,  where  their  catholic  majesties 
were  carrying  on  the  siege  of  Granada.  The  friar  then 
had  an  interview  with  the  queen  and  so  entreated  her, 
that  she  consented  that  the  conferences  respecting  the 
discovery  should  be  renewed.  But  the  opinions  of  the 
prior  of  Prado  and  those  of  his  followers  were  dis- 
couraging, besides  Columbus  desired  to  be  made 
admiral  and  viceroy,  and  to  have  other  compensations 
deemed  too  considerable  to  be  granted,  because  if  he 
succeeded  in  .doing  what  he  proposed,  they  thought 
his  demands   were   too  exorbitant,   and   in   case   he 


i  11 


i 


I 


i 

i 


i 


; 


92 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


did  not  accomplish  any  thing,  they  considered  it 
foolish  to  bestow  such  titles  ;  consequently  the  matter 
received  no  favor;ible  decision.  *  *  *  These 
things  being  of  such  importance,  and  their  highnesses 
refusing  to  grant  them,  the  admiral  took  leave  of  his 
friends,  and  proceeded  toward  Cordova  to  make  prep- 
arations for  his  journey  to  France,  for  he  had  deter- 
mined not  to  return  to  Portugal,  although  the  king  had 
written  to  him.     *     *     * 

"  It  was  in  the  month  of  January,  in  the  year  1492, 
when  the  admiral  departed  from  the  camp  of  Santa  F6. 
On  that  same  day  also  Luis  de  Santangel,  previously 
mentioned,  who  did  not  approve  of  his  going  away, 
but  was  veiy  desirous  to  prevent  it,  went  to  the  queen, 
and  using  such  words  as  his  thoughts  suggested  to 
persuade  and  enlighten  her,  said,  he  was  surprised  that 
her  highness,  who  had  always  a  great  fondness  for  all 
matters  of  moment  and  consequence  should  now  be 
timid  in  favoring  this  undertrking,  where  so  little  was 
hazarded  that  might  contribute  in  many  ways  to  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  propagation  of  religion.  *  *  * 
The  queen,  knowing  the  sincerity  of  Santangel's  words, 
answered,  thanking  him  for  his  good  advice  and  say- 
ing she  was  willing  to  accept  the  proposals  upon  the 
condition  that  the  undertaking  should  be  delayed  until 
she  had  more  leisure  after  the  war,  and  yet,  if  he  thought 
differently,  she  was  satisfied  that  as  much  money  as 
was  required  to  fit  out  a  fleet,  should  be  borrowed  on 
her  jewels.  But  Santdngel,  perceiving  that  the  queen 
had  condescended  upon  his  advice  to  do  what  she  had 
refused  all  other  persons,  replied  that  there  was  no 
need  of  pawning  her  jewels,  for  he  would  do  her  high- 
ness that  small  service  by  lending  his  money.  There- 
upon the  queen  at  once  sent  an  officer  post-haste  to 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


93 


bring  the  admiral  back,  who  found  him  upon  the  bridge 
of  Pinos,  two  leagues  from  Granada.  Although  the 
admiral  was  much  disheartened  by  the  disappointments 
and  delays  he  had  met  with  in  this  undertaking,  never- 
theless, being  informed  of  the  queen's  wish  and  inten- 
tion, he  returned  to  the  camp  of  Sauca  Fe,  where  he 
was  graciously  entertained  by  their  catholic  majesties, 
and  his  commission  and  stipulations  were  intrusted  to 
their  secretary,  Juan  de  Coloma,  who,  by  the  command 
of  their  highnesses,  under  their  hand  and  seal,  granted 
him  all  the  conditions  and  provisions  which,  as  already 
mentioned,  he  had  demanded,  without  altering  or  sub- 
tracting any  thing  in  them."' 

'  In  a  letter,  addressed  to  the  king  and  queen  describing  his  fourth  voyage, 
Columbus  remarks  :  "  For  seven  years  I  was  at  your  royal  court,  where  every 
one  to  whom  the  enterprise  was  mentioned  treated  it  as  ridiculous,  but  now 
there  is  not  a  man,  down  to  the  very  tailors,  who  does  not  beg  to  be  allowed  to 
become  a  discoverer." — Coleccion  de  los  viages  y  descubrimientos,  que  hicieron 
por  mar  los  EspaBoles  desde  fines  del  siglo  xv.,  por  Don  Martin  Fernandez  de 
Navarrete.     Madrid,  1825.     tom.  i.  p.  311. 

Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,    cap.  xiii,  xiv,  xv. 


'!:«. 


■:,iii 


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il 


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III 

m 


CHAPTER   IV. 


1492-1493- 


Sensibly  Impressed  with  the  importance  of  his 
undertaking,  Columbus  determined  to  keep  a  journal 
of  such  observations  and  incidents  as  were  most  note- 
worthy during  the  voyage.  Governed  by  this  inten- 
tion, he  made  the  following  entry  in  his  log-book, 
when  he  set  sail  for  the  remote  shores  of  Cathay  : 

"  In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Whereas  the  most  Christian,  high,  excellent,  and 
powerful  rulers,  the  king  and  the  queen  of  Spain  and 
of  the  islands  of  the  sea,  our  sovereigns,  this  present 
year,  1492,  after  your  highnesses  had  ended  the  war 
with  the  Moors  ruling  in  Europe,  the  same  having  ter- 
minated in  the  great  city  of  Granada,  where,  on  the 
second  day  of  January,  this  present  year,  I   saw  the 
royal  banners  of  your  highnesses  planted  by  force  of 
arms  upon  the  towers  of  the  Alhambra,  the  fortress  of 
that  city,  and  beheld  the  Moorish  king  come  out  at  the 
gate  of  the  city  and  kiss  the  hands  of  your  highnesses 
and  of  the  prince,  my  sovereign,  and  in  the  present 
month,  on  account  of  the  information  which  I  had  given 
your   highnesses   respecting   the   countries    of    India 
and  of  a  sovereign  called  the  Grand  Khan,  signifying, 
in  our  language,  king  of  kings  ;  how,  at  different  times, 
he  and  his  predecessors  had  sent  to  Rome  soliciting 
instructors  to  teach  him  our  holy  religion,  and  how  the 
holy  father  had  never  granted  his  request,  whereby 

94 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


95 


great  numbers  of  people  were  lost,  believing  in  idola- 
try and  doctrines  of  perdition  ;  therefore  your  high- 
nesses, as  catholic  Christians  and  sovereigns,  who  love 
and  promote  the  holy  Christian  religion,  and  are  ene- 
mies of  the  sect  of  Mahomet,  and  of  all  idolatry  and 
heresy,  determined  to  send  me,  Christopher  Columbus, 
(Crist6bal  Colon,)  to  the  previoush-  mentioned  coun- 
tries of  India,  to  see  the  said  sovereigns,  people,  and 
territories,  and  to  learn  their  disposition  and  the  proper 
way  of  converting  them  to  our  holy  religion  ;  and  fur- 
thermore, directed  that  I  should  not  go  by  land  to  the 
East,  as  is  customary,  but  by  a  westerly  route,  in  which 
direction  we  have  hitherto  no  certain  evidence  that  any 
one  has  gone.  Therefore,  after  having  expelled  the  Jews 
from  your  dominions,  your  highnesses,  in  the  same 
month  of  January,  ordered  me  to  proceed  with  a  suffi- 
cient armament  to  the  said  regions  of  India,  and  for 
that  purpose  granted  me  great  favors  and  ennobled  me, 
that  thereafter  I  might  call  myself  Don  and  be  high 
admiral  (almirante  mayor)  of  the  sea,  and  perpetual 
viceroy  and  governor  of  all  the  islands  and  continent 
which  I  might  discover  and  acquire,  or  which  may 
hereafter  be  discovered  and  acquired  in  the  ocean  ; 
and  that  this  title  should  be  inherited  by  my  eld- 
est son,  and  thus  descend  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration forever.  Thereupon  I  left  the  city  of  Gra- 
nada, on  Saturday,  the  twelfth  day  of  May,  1492, 
and  proceeded  to  Palos,  a  seaport,  where  I  armed 
three  vessels  very  fit  for  such  an  expedition,  and 
having  provided  myself  with  an  abundance  of 
stores  and  seamen,  I  set  sail  from  this  port  on 
Friday,  the  third  of  August,  half  an  hour  before 
sunrise,  and  steered  for  the  Canary  Islands  of  your 
highnesses,  which  are  in  the  said  ocean,  thence  to  take 


L 


i 


96 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


my  departure  and  proceed  till  I  arrived  at  the  Indies, 
and  perform  the  embassy  of  your  highnesses  to  the 
sovereigns  there,  and  discharge  the  orders  given. 
Consequently,  I  have  determined  to  write  out  daily  a 
minute  account  of  the  voyage  respecting  what  I  do  and 
see,  and  the  passage,  as  hereafter  will  appear.  More- 
over, sovereign  princes,  besides  recording  each  night 
my  progress  during  the  day  and  the  run  made  during 
the  night,  I  intend  to  make  a  new  nautical  chart  {carta 
nueva  de  navegar),  in  which  I  shall  delineate  all  the  sea 
and  the  lands  of  the  Ocean  in  their  proper  places  under 
their  wind ;  and,  moreover,  I  shall  compose  a  book  and 
represent  the  whole  like  a  picture  by  latitude,  from  the 
equator,  and  by  longitude,  from  the  West,  wherefore  it 
will  cause  me  to  abstain  from  sleep  and  to  make  many 
experiments  in  navigation,  for  these  things  will  require 
no  little  labor."  ' 

The  vessels  of  the  fleet  were  the  ship  {la  nao),  Santa 
Maria,"  commanded  by  Columbus,  and  two  caravels, 
{carabelas,)  La  Pinta,  commanded  by  Martin  Alonso 
Pinzon,  and  La  Nina,  by  Vicente  Yanes  Pinzon,  his 
brother,  both  being  natives  and  seamen  of  Palos. 
"Being  furnished  with  all  necessaries  and  ninety  men," ' 
says  Ferdinand  Columbus, "  they  set  sail  on  the  third  of 

' "  Tengo  propdsito  de  hacer  carta  nueva  de  navegar,  en  la  cual  situari  toda 
la  mar  y  tierras  del  mar  Ocdano  en  sus  propios  lugares  debajo  su  viento;  y  mas 
componer  un  libra,  y poner  todo por el semejante par pintura, par  latitud del  equi- 
nodal y  longitud  del  Occid(nte,  y  sobre  todo  cumple  mucho  que  yo  olvide  el  suenoy 
tiente  mucho  el  navegar  porque  asi  cumple,  las  cuales  serdtt  gran  trabajo."-  - 
Coleccion  de  los  viages  y  descubrimientos.     Navarrete.  torn.  i.  ip.  I-3. 

*  Columbus,  speaking  of  the  progress  of  the  ship,  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
October,  remarks  :  "  I  carried  all  the  sail  of  the  ship,  the  mainsail,  and  two 
bonnets,  the  foresail,  and  the  spritsail,  and  the  mizzen  and  the  main-top-sail. 
Llevaba  todas  mis  velas  de  la  nao,  maestra,  y  dos  bonetas,  y  trinquete,  y  cebadera, 
y  mezana,  y  vela  de gavia."  A  bonnet  was  a  sail  placed  beneath  the  mainsail 
in  fine  weather  to  increase  the  speed  of  a  ship. 

*  On  the  pavement  of  the  cathedral  of  Seville  is  inscribed:  "  Con  tres 
gaUras y  i)opersonas,"  wUh  three  galleys  and  ninety  persons. 


les, 
the 
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and 
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I 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


97 


August  directly  tovi^ard  the  Canaries,  and  from  that  time 
forward  the  admiral  was  very  careful  to  keep  an  accurate 
journal  of  all  that  happened  to  him  during  the  voyage, 
specifying  the  wind  that  blew,  how  far  he  sailed  witli 
it,  the  currents  he  found,  and  what  he  saw  by  the  way, 
whether  birds  or  fishes,  or  other  things.     *     *     * 

"  The  next  day  after  the  admiral's  departure  lor  the 
Canary  Islands,  it  being  Saturday,  the  foarth  of  August, 
the  rudder  of  one  of  the  caravels,  of  the  one  called  La 
Pinta,  broke  loose,  and  the  caravel  being  compelled  to 
lie  to,  the  admiral  soon  reached  her  side,  but  the  wind 
blowing  hard  he  could  render  no  ^ssitance  as  command- 
ers at  sea  are  obliged  to  do  to  encourage  those  that  are 
in  distress.  This  he  did  more  promptly,  as  he  conceived 
that  the  unshipping  of  the  rudder  had  been  brought 
about  by  the  contrivance  of  the  master  to  avoid  going 
on  the  voyage,  as  he  had  attempted  to  do  before  they 
set  sail." ' 

At  the  Canary  Islands,  Columbus  altered  the  sails 
of  the  caravel  La  Nina,  and  made  a  new  rudder  for  the 
Pinta.  On  Thursday  morning,  the  sixth  of  September, 
the  three  vessels  set  sail  from  the  island  Gomera,  of 
the  Canary  group,  '•  and  stood  away  to  the  west."  On 
the  following  Sunday,  at  day-break,  when  the  fleet  was 
nine  leagues  west  of  the  island  of  Ferro,'  the  sailors 
"  lost  sight  of  land,  and  many,  fearing  that  it  would  be 
long  before  they  should  see  it  again^  sighed  and  wept, 
but  the  admiral,  after  comforting  them  with  large  prom- 
ises of  land  and  of  wealth,  to  raise  their  hopes  and 
lessen  their  fears  respecting  the  length  of  the  voyage^ 

'  Historie  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,    cap.  xvi,  xvii. 

*  The  island  of  Ferro  is  the  most  westerly  of  ;he  Canary  group.  The  Cana- 
ries lie  off  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  between  27°  and  30°  north  latitude  and  13* 
and  19°  west  longitude.  The  principal  islands  are  :  Teneriffe,  Grand  Canary, 
Palma,  Lanzarote,  Fuerteventura,  Gomera,  and  Ferro.  Through  the  last  island 
the  ancient  geographers  drew  the  first  meridian  of  longitude. 


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98 


DISCOVERIES  OF-  AMERICA. 


pretended  that  by  his  computation  they  had  sailed  only 
fifteen  leagues  that  day  when  they  had  really  run 
eighteen,  he  having  determined  to  keep,  during  the  voy- 
age, his  reckoning  short,  in  order  that  the  men  might 
not  think  that  they  were  so  far  from  Spain  as  they 
were,  should  he  openly  set  down  the  progress  made 
which  he  privately  recorded/ 

^  "  Continuing  his  voyage  in  this  way,  on  Wednes- 
day, the  twelfth  of  September,  about  sun-setting, 
being  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  wer.t  of  the 
island  of  Ferro,  he  discovered  a  large  piece  of  tne 
trunk  of  a  tree  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons,  which 
seemed  to  have  been  a  long  time  in  the  water.  There 
and  somewhat  farther  the  current  set  stronglv  toward 
the  northeast.  When  he  had  run  fifty  leagues  farther 
westward,  on  the  thirteenth  of  Septembei  he  found 
at  night-fall  that  the  needle  varied  half  a  point  toward 
the  northeast,  and,  at  day-break,  half  a  point  more,  by 
which  he  understood  that  the  needle  did  not  point  at 
the  north  star,  but  at  some  othei  fixed  and  visible 
point.  This  variation  no  man  had  observed  before, 
and  therefore  he  had  occasion  to  be  surprised  at  it ;  but 
he  was  more  amazed  on  the  third  day  after  this,  when 
he  was  almost  one  hundred  leagues  farther,  for  at  night 
the  needles  varied  about  a  point  to  the  northeast,  and 
in  the  morning  they  pointed  upon  the  star." ' 

'  According  to  Columbus's  statement,  56|  miles  were  equal  to  a  degree,  and 
four  miles  to  a  marine  league.  It  has  been  assumed  that  the  Italian  mile  used 
in  measurements  by  Colurcbus  equalled  4,842  English  feet,  and  the  Italian 
marine  league  >  9,368  English  feet. —  ^ie/^  An  attempt  to  solve  the  problem  of 
the  first  landing-place  of  Columbus  in  the  New  World.  By  Captain  G.  V.  Fox, 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Navy.  United  State?  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Survey.     Appendix  No.  18.     Report  for  1880,     Washington,  1882. 

pp.  S8.  59- 

'  '*  On  September  13,  1492,  he  had  reached  far  enough  to  the  westward  to 
come  from  a  previously  eastern  declination  within  a  region  of  westerly  declina- 
tion, and  that  on  September  17  it  amounted  to  a  whole  point  (iiy°).  This 
constitutes  his  well -known  dbcovety  of  n  part  of  a  line  of  no-declination. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


99 


't-  mm 

'.     "J 


As  they  sailed  on  this  westward  course,  they  found 
"  more  weeds  than  they  had  hitherto  toward  the  north 
as  far  as  they  could  see,  which  weeds  were  sometimes 
a  solace  to  them,  believing  that  they  might  come  from 
some  land  that  was  near,  and  sometimes  they  caused 
dread,  because  they  were  so  thick  that  in  some  measure 
they  impeded  the  ships,  and  fear  making  things  worse 
than  they  c^'-e,  they  apprehended  that  that  might  hap- 
pen to  them  which  is  fictitiously  reported  of  Saint  Amaro 
in  the  Frozen  Sea,  which  it  is  said  does  not  suffer  ships 
to  stir  backward  or  forward,  and  therefore  they  steered 
away  from  the  shoals  of  weeds  as  far  as  possible.' 

"  Two  hundred  and  twenty-four  leagues  or,  near  enough  tor  our  purpose, 
672  nautical  miles,  west  of  the  island  of  Gomera  would  place  him  on  September 
13,  in  latitude  28°  06'  north,  and  in  longitude  12°  42'  +  17°  08'  —  29°  50',  ac- 
cording to  Bowditch,  or  if  we  take  the  position  of  the  harbor  of  Sebastian  near 
the  eastern  point  of  Gomera  Island,  according  to  admiralty  chart  No.  1873, 
viz.  :  latitude  28°  05'  5  and  longitude  17°  06'  3  and  considering  that  11°  12' 
correspond  to  12°  42'  of  difference  of  longitude  in  that  latitude,  we  huvQ  for 
a  point  in  the  line  of  no-declination  the  latitude  of  28°  05'  and  longitude 
29°  48'.  In  E.  Walker's  treatise  on  Terrestrial  and  Cosmical  Magnetism, 
Cambridge  (Englanil),  t866,  p.  300,  we  read:  '  The  history  of  this  line  dates 
from  the  13th  of  September,  1492,  when  Columbus  observed  the  needle  pass 
from  the  east  to  the  west  of  the  meridian,  in  latitude  28°  N.  longitude  28°  W. 
(probably  roughly  adding  ri°  of  difference  of  longitude  to  17°  for  longitude  of 
Gomera).  According  to  my  computation  of  the  daily  position  of  the  Admiral's 
flagship,  and  based  upon  his  log-book,  he  was  on  September  13  in  latitude 
28°  21'  longitude  29°  16'.  ♦  *  *  According"  to  my  computation  of  the 
daily  track,  Colutr.bus  was  on  September  17,  1492,  in  latitude  27°  38'  and  in 
longitude  36°  30  ,  when  he  noted  11°  west  declination." — An  inquiry  into  the 
variation  of  the  compass  off  the  Bahama  Islands,  at  the  time  of  the  landfall  of 
Columbus  in  149!?.  By  Charles  A  Schott.  United  .States  Coast  and  Geodetic 
Survey.     Appendix  No,  19.    Report  for  1880.     Wasliington,  1882.    p.  5. 

"  Christopher  Columbus  has  not  only  the  merit  of  being  the  first  to  discover 
a  line  ivithout  fiiagnetic  variation,  but  also  of  having  excited  a  taste  for  the  study 
of  terrestrial  magnetism  in  Europe,  by  means  of  his  observations  on  the  progres- 
sive increase  of  western  declination  in  receding  from  that  line." — Humboldt: 
Cosmcs.     Otte's  trans,    voi.  ii.  p.  656. 

'  "  Men  also  became  acquainted  with  those  great  banks  of  sea-weed  (Fucus 
natans), — the  oceanic  meadows  which  presented  the  singular  spectacle  of  the 
accumulation  of  a  social  plant  over  an  extent  of  space  almost  seven  times  greater 
than  the  area  of  France.  The  great  Fucus  Bank,  the  Mar  tie  Sargasso,  extends 
between  19°  and  34°  north  latitude.     The  major  axis  is  situated  about  7°  west 


*\ 

li 


,4 

il. 


: 


i 


! 

''■  s 

III' 


i" 


100 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


"  The  wind  at  this  time  blew  at  southwest,  some- 
dmes  more  and  sometimes  less  west,  which,  though 
con*  ary  to  their  voyage,  the  admiral  said  he  considered 
a  very  good  wind  and  a  help  to  them,  because  the  men, 
continually  grumbling,  said  that  among  the  things 
which  increased  their  fears  this  was  one,  for  the  wind 
being  always  astern,  they  should  never  have  a  gale  in 
those  seas  t  >  carry  them  back  ;  and  though  sometimes 
they  found  the  contrary,  they  alleged  that  it  was  no 
settled  wind,  and  that  not  being  strong  enough  to  swell 
the  sea,  it  would  never  carry  them  back  as  far  as  they 
had  to  sail.  Although  the  admiral  did  whatever  he 
could  to  make  them  cheerful,  telling  them  that  the  land 
being  now  so  nea^  did  not  permit  the  waves  to  risC; 
and  using  the  best  argument  he  could,  nevertheless  he 
affirms  that  he  stood  in  need  of  God's  special  help,  as 
Moses  did  when  he  led  the  Israelites  out  of  Egypt, 
who  forbore  laying  violent  hands  upon  him,  because  of 
the  wonders  God  wrought  through  him.  The  admiral 
said  that  he  was  similarly  protected  in  this  voyage.  On 
the  following  Sunday  the  wind  began  to  blow  from  the 
west- northwest,  with  a  rolling  sea  as  the  men  wished, 
and  three  hours  before  noon  they  saw  a  turtle-dove  fly 
over  the  ship,  and  in  the  evening  they  saw  a  pelican,  a 
river  fowl,  and  other  wild  birds,  and  some  crabs  among 
the  weeds ;  and  the  next  day  they  espied  another  peli- 
can, and  several  small  birds  which  came  from  the 
west,  and  small  fishes,  some  of  which  the  men  of  the 
other  vessels  stuck  with  harpoons,  because  ihey  would 
not  bite  at  the  hook."  ' 

"  As  often  as  the  men  were  deceived  by  these  signs 

of  the  island  of  Corvo.  The  /esser  Fucus  Bank  lies  in  a  space  between  the 
Bermudas  and  the  Bahamas.  Winds  and  pa>'tial  currents  variously  I'iTect,  ac- 
cording to  the  cl  aracter  of  the  season,  the  length  and  circumference  of  th>*se 
Atlantic  fucoid  meadows." — Humboldt:  Cosmos,  Otte's  trans,  vol.  ii.  p.  663. 
*  Historie  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  xviii,  xix. 


sL 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


lOI 


'n 


of  land,  so  often  had  they  occasion  to  be  suspicious 
and  to  grumble  and  conspire  together.  They  said  the 
admiral,  for  a  foolish  whim,  intended  to  make  him- 
self a  great  lord  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives,  and  since 
they  had  done  their  duty  in  trying  their  fortune,  and  had 
gone  farther  from  land  and  any  succor  than  others  had 
done,  that  they  ought  not  to  destroy  themselves,  nor 
proceed  farther  on  the  voyage,  because  if  they  did, 
they  should  have  reason  to  repent,  for  their  provisions 
would  fall  short  and  the  sails  of  the  ships  would  not 
last,  which  they  knew  were  already  so  impaired  that  it 
would  be  difficult  to  retrace  their  course  from  where 
they  were  ;  and  that  none  would  condemn  them  for 
returning,  but  that  they  would  be  regarded  as  very 
brave  men  for  going  upon  such  an  expedition  and  ven- 
turing so  far,  and  that  the  admiral  being  a  foreigner, 
and  having  nothing  at  stake,  and  as  many  wise  and 
learned  men  had  condemned  his  opinion,  there  would 
be  nobody  now  to  favor  and  defend  him,  and  that  they 
should  get  more  credit  than  he  if  they  accused  him  of 
ignorance  and  mismanagement,  whatever  he  should 
say  for  himself.  And  there  were  some  who  said  that 
to  end  all  dispute,  in  case  he  would  not  consent  to 
return,  that  they  could  make  short  work  of  it  and  throw 
him  overboard,  and  report  that  while  he  was  making 
his  observations  he  fell  into  the  sea,  and  that  no  man 
would  trouble  himself  to  inquire  mto  the  truth  of  the 
matter ;  which  deed  would  hasten  their  return  home 
and  preserve  their  lives.  Thus  they  conducted  them- 
selves from  day  to  day,  grumbling,  complaining,  and 
conspiring  together.  The  admiral  was  not  without  ap- 
prehensions of  their  inconstancy  and  evil  intentions 
toward  him.  Therefore,  sometimes  with  fair  words 
and  sometimes  with  a  strong  determination  to  expose 


I 


i 


:  **M 


102 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


his  life,  putting  them  in  mind  of  the  punishment  due 
them  if  they  hindered  the  voyage,  he,  in  some  measure, 
quelled  their  fears  and  suppressed  their  evil  designs. 
To  confirm  the  hope  with  which  he  had  inspired  them, 
he  reminded  them  of  the  previous  signs  and  indica- 
tions, assuring  them  that  they  would  soon  find  land, 
which  they  were  so  eager  to  see  that  they  thought 
every  hour  a  year  until  they  beheld  it.     *     *      * 

'On  Sunday  morning  [the  thirtieth  of  Septem- 
ber], four  rush-tails  came  to  the  ship,  and  as  they  flew 
there  together,  it  was  thought  that  land  was  near,  es- 
pecially-when,  not  long  afterward,  four  pelicans  flew 
by,  and  an  abundance  of  weeds  was  seen,  lying  in  a 
line  west-northwest  and  east-southeast,  and  also  a 
great  number  of  those  fishes  they  call  emperadores, 
which  have  a  very  hard  skin  and  are  not  fit  to  eat. 
However  much  the  admiral  regarded  these  signs,  still 
he  never  forgot  those  in  the  heavens  and  the  course  of 
the  stars.  He  therefore  observed  in  this  place,  to  his 
great  astonishment,  that  the  stars  of  Charles's  wain,  at 
night,  appeared  in  the  west,  and  in  the  morning  they 
were  directly  northeast,  fron  which  he  inferred  that 
their  whole  night's  course  was  but  three  lines  or  nine 
hours — that  is,  so  many  parts  of  twenty-four, — and  this 
he  did  every  night.  He  also  perceived  that  at  night- 
fall the  comj  ass-needle  varied  a  whole  point  to  the 
northwest,  and  at  day-break  it  came  right  with  the  star. 
These  things  confounded  the  pilots  until  he  told  them 
that  the  cause  of  it  was  the  circuit  ihe  star  took  about 
the  pole,  which  was  some  satisfaction  to  them,  for  this 
variation  made  them  apprehend  some  danger  at  such 
an  unknown  distance  from  home,  and  in  such  strange 

'  sis  sl£  at* 

regions.     *     *     * 

"  On  Monday,  the  first  of  October,  at  sunrise,  a 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


103 


pelican  came  to  the  ship,  and  tv^o  more  about  ten  in  the 
morning,  and  long  beds  of  weeds  extended  from  east 
to  west.  That  day,  in  the  morning,  the  pilot  of  the 
admiral's  ship  said  that  they  were  five  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  leagues  west  of  the  island  of  Ferro.  The 
admiral  said,  by  his  reckoning,  they  were  five  hundred 
and  eighty-four  leagues ;  but  in  secret  he  concluded  it 
was  seven  hundred  and  seven,  which  is  one  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  leagues  more  than  the  pilot  reckoned. 
The  other  two  vessels  differed  much  in  their  computa- 
tions, for  the  oilot  of  the  caravel  Nina,  on  the  following 
Wednesday  afternoon,  said  they  had  sailed  five  hun- 
dred and  forty  K^agues,  and  the  other  of  ihe  caravel 
Pinta  said  six  hundred  and  thirty-four.     *     *     * 

"  On  Thursday  afternoon,  the  fourth  of  October,  a 
flock  of  more  than  forty  sparrows  and  two  pelicans  flew 
so  near  the  ship  that  a  seaman  killed  one  of  them  with 
a  stone ;  and  before  this  they  had  seen  another  bird 
like  a  rush-tail,  and  another  like  a  swallow,  and  a  great 
many  flying-fish  fell  into  the  vessels.  The  next  day 
there  came  a  rush-tail  and  a  pelican  from  the  west,  and 
great  numbers  of  sparrows  were  seen. 

*•  On  Sunday,  the  seventh  of  October,  about  sun- 
rise, some  signs  of  land  appeared  westward,  but  being 
undefined,  no  one  said  any  thing,  for  fear  of  the  con- 
sequence of  asserting  what  did  not  exist,  and  also  for 
fear  of  losing  the  thirty  crowns  which  their  catholic 
majesties  had  promistd  as  an  annuity  during  the  life 
of  him  who  should  first  discover  land.  In  order  to 
prevent  the  men  from  crying  land,  land,  at  every  turn, 
as  they  would  likely  have  done  without  cause  to  secure 
the  gift,  it  was  ordered  that  whoever  said  he  saw  land, 
if  it  were  not  ascertained  i^  exist  in  three  days  from 
that  time,  should  lose  the  reward,  even  if  afterward  he 


»', 


■if '3 


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If 


1 


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104 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


should  be  declared  to  be  the  first  discoverer  of  land. 
All  on  board  of  the  admiral's  ship  being  thus  fore- 
warned, none  dared  to  cry  out  land,  but  those  in  the 
caravel  Nina,  which  was  a  better  sailer,  and  kept 
ahead,  once  believing  that  they  actually  saw  land,  fired 
a  gun,  and  displayed  their  colors  to  indicate  land.  But 
the  farther  they  sailed  the  more  their  joyous  expecta- 
tions diminished  and  the  indication  of  land  disappeared. 
However,  it  pleased  God  to  give  them  soon  after  some 
comforting  a-^-surances,  for  they  saw  great  flocks  of  large 
fowl  and  others  of  small  birds  flying  from  the  west 
toward  the  southwest.  Therefore,  the  admiral,  being 
now  so  far  from  Spain,  and  sure  that  such  small  birds 
would  not  go  far  from  land,  altered  his  course,  which 
until  that  time  had  been  westward,  and  stood  to  the 
southwest,  saying,  that  his  reason  for  changing  his 
course  was  that  he  would  deviate  but  a  little  from  his 
first  intention  and  that  he  would  be  fbllowing  the 
example  of  the  Portuguese,  who  had  discovered  the 
greater  number  of  their  islands  by  means  of  such  birds, 
and  more  especially  as  the  birds  he  saw  flew  generally 
in  the  same  direction.  He  also  had  always  proposed 
to  himself  to  find  land  according  to  the  place  they  were 
in  ;  since,  as  they  well  knew,  he  had  often  told  them 
that  he  never  expected  to  find  land  until  he  was  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  leagues  westward  of  the  Canary 
Islands,  within  which  distance,  he  had  further  said,  he 
should  discover  Espafiola,  which,  at  this  time,  he 
called  Cipango.     *     *     * 

"  On  Monday,  the  eighth  of  October,  there  came 
to  the  ship  twelve  singing-birds  of  several  colors,  and 
after  flying  about  the  vessel,  they  held  on  their  way. 
They  also  saw  from  the  vessels  many  other  birds  flying 
toward  the   southwest,  and  that    same   night    great 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


105 


numbers  of  large  fowls  were  seen,  and  Pjcks  of  small 
birds  coming  from  the  north,  and  flying  after  the  others. 
Besides  they  saw  a  good  number  of  tunny-fish.  In  the 
morning  they  saw  a  jay,  a  pelican,  some  ducks,  and 
small  birds,  flying  the  same  way  as  the  others  had 
done,  and  they  perceived  that  the  air  was  fresh  and 
odoriferous,  as  it  is  at  Seville  in  April.  But  they 
were  now  so  eager  to  see  land,  that  they  had  no  faith 
in  any  signs  ;  so  that,  on  Wednesday,  the  tenth  of 
October,  although  they  saw  a  great  many  birds  pass 
by  during  the  day  and  at  night,  the  men  did  not  cease 
to  complain,  or  the  admiral  to  censure  them  for  their 
want  of  confidence,  declaring  to  them,  that  right  or 
wrong  they  must  go  farther  to  discover  the  Indies 
for  which  purpose  their  catholic  majesties  had  sent 
*  lem. 

"  The  admiral  being  no  longer  able  to  withstand 
the  number  that  opposed  him,  it  ple^s^r',  God  that  on 
Thursday  afternoon,  the  eleventh  of  October,  the  men 
took  heart  and  rejoiced,  because  they  had  unquestion- 
able signs  that  they  were  near  land.  Those  on  board 
the  admiral's  sh.p  saw  a  green  rush  float  by  the  ship, 
and  then  a  large  green  fish  of  that  class  which  go  not 
far  from  the  rocks.  Those  on  board  the  caravel  Pinta 
saw  a  cane  and  a  staff,  and  picked  up  another  stafl" 
curiously  wrought,  and  a  small  board,  and  an  abundance 
of  fresh  weeds  washed  from  the  shore.  Those  in  the 
caravel  Nina  saw  similar  things,  and  a  branch  of  a 
thorn  full  of  red  berries,  which  seemed  to  be  recently 
broken  off.  By  these  signs  and  by  his  own  conscious- 
ness, the  admiral,  being  assured  that  he  was  near  land, 
made  a  speech  to  all  the  men  in  the  evening,  after 
prayers,  reminding  them  how  merciful  God  had  been 
in  bringing  them  on  so  long  a  voyage  with  such  fair 


^ 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


weather,  and  comforting  them  with  indications  which 
every  day  were  plainer  and  plainer.  He  begged  them  to 
be  very  watchful  that  night,  for  they  were  aware  that  in 
the  first  article  of  the  instruc);iGns  he  had  given  each  ship 
at  the  Canary  Islands,  that  he  had  ordered  that  when 
they  had  sailed  seven  hundred  leagues  to  the  west, 
without  discovering  land,  that  they  should  lie  to  from 
midnight  until  daylight.  Therefore,  since  they  had  not 
yet  obtained  their  desires  in  discovering  land,  they 
should  at  least  manifest  their  zeal  by  being  watchful. 
And  inasmuch  as  he  had  the  strongest  assurances  of 
finding  land  that  night,  each  should  watch  in  his  place ; 
for  besides  the  annuity  of  thirty  crowns  which  their 
highnesses  had  promised  for  a  life- time  to  the  one  that 
first  saw  land,  to  the  same  person  he  would  give  a 
velvet  doublet. 

"  After  this,  about  ten  at  night,  as  the  admiral  was 
in  the  great  cabin,  he  saw  a  light  on  shore,  but  said  it 
was  so  obscure  that  he  could  not  affirm  it  to  be  land, 
though  he  called  Pedro  Gutierrez,  and  bid  him  observe 
whether  he  saw  the  light,  who  said  he  did.  Shoitly 
afterward  they  called  Rodrigo  Sanchez,  of  Segovia,  to 
look  that  way,  but  he  could  not  see  it,  because  he  did 
not  come  in  time  to  the  place  where  it  might  have 
been  seen.  They  did  not  see  it  more  than  once  or 
twice,  which  induced  them  to  think  that  it  might  have 
been  a  candle  or  a  torch  belonging  to  some  fisherman 
or  traveller,  who  lifted  it  up  and  down ;  or,  perhaps, 
that  it  was  in  the  hands  of  people  going  from  one 
house  to  another,  as  the  light  vanished  and  suddenly 
appeared  again.  *  *  *  Being  now  very  watchful, 
they  still  held  on  their  course,  until  about  two  in  the 
morning,  when  the  caravel  Pinta,  which,  being  an  ex- 
cellent sailer,  was  far  ahead,  gave  the  signal  of  land, 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


107 


which  was  first  discovered  by  a  sailor  named  Rodrigo 
de  Triana,  when  two  leagues  from  the  shore.  But  the 
annuity  of  thirty  crowns  was  not  given  to  him  by  their 
catholic  majesties,  but  to  the  admiral,  who  had  seen  the 
light  in  the  darkness,  signifying  the  spiritual  light  that  he 
was  then  spreading  in  those  dark  regions.  Being  now 
near  land,  all  the  ships  lay  to,  those  on  board  thinking 
it  was  a  ^ong  time  until  morning,  when  they  might  see 
what  they  had  so  long  desired." ' 

This  island,  says  Bartolom^  de  las  Casas,  the 
Spanish  historian,"  was  "  one  of  the  Lucayos,  called  by 
the    Indians   Guanahani.^      Presently  they   descried 

'  Historie  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  xx,  xxii. 

The  discoveiy  of  land  was  made  on  Friday  morning,  the  twelfth  of  Octo- 
ber, old  style.  According  to  the  calendar  of  Julius  Caesar,  every  fourth  year  had 
three  hundred  and  sixty-six  days  ;  the  others  three  hundred  and  sixty-five.  Pope 
Gregory  XIII.  changed  this  method  of  reckoning  time  by  dropping  ten  days  in 
October,  1582,  in  order  to  bring  back  the  day  of  the  vernal  equinox  to  the  same 
day,  in  the  year  325,  in  which  the  council  of  Nice  was  convened.  By  an  act 
of  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain,  in  1751,  eleven  days,  in  September,  1752, 
were  dropped,  and  the  third  day  of  the  month  was  leckoned  the  fourteenth  of 
the  new  style.     This  mode  of  reckoning  time  is  called  the  new  style. 

•  Bartolom^  de  las  Casas  was  born  at  Seville,  in  1474.  In  1502  he  made 
bis  first  voyage  to  the  New  World,  and  quitted  its  shores  for  the  last  time  in 
1547.  His  history  of  the  Indies, — Historia  general  de  las  Indias, — written 
between  the  years  1527  and  1562,  was  riot  printed  until  i875-'76,  when  it  was 
issued,  in  five  volumes,  at  Madrid.  Before  his  death,  in  1566,  he  gave  the 
manuscript  of  this  work  to  the  convent  of  San  Gregorio,  at  Valladolid,  with  the 
request  that  it  should  not  be  published  for  forty  years.  A  manuscript  in  Lab 
Casas's  hand-writing,  apparently  an  abridgment  of  Columbus's  journal  of  his 
first  voyage,  which  the  former  evidently  had  made  while  obtaining  material  for 
his  history  of  the  Indies,  was  found  by  Martin  Fernandez  de  Navarrete,  the 
Spanish  historian,  in  the  archives  of  Spain,  when  making,  about  the  year  1790, 
researches  for  information  respecting  the  marine  history  of  Spain. 

'  This  island  is  believed  by  Munoz  to  be  Watling  Island  ;  by  Navarrete, 
Grand  Turk  Island  ;  by  Humboldt  and  Irving,  Cat  Island.  The  Bahamas  lie 
between  the  island  of  Hayti  or  San  Domingo  and  the  east  coast  of  Florida,  or 
between  21°  and  27°  30'  north  latitude  and  70°  30'  and  79°  5'  west  longitude. 
The  principal  islands  of  the  group  are  the  Grand  Bahama,  Great  and  Little 
Abaco,  Andros,  New  Providence,  San  Salvador,  Rum  Cay,  Great  Exuma,  Wat- 
ling,  Long,  Crooked,  Atwood's  Key,  Great  and  Little  Magua  islands. 

The  identity  of  the  island  is  discussed  at  some  length  by  Captain  G.  V. 
Fox,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  who  remarks :   "  The  study  that  I  gave  to  the 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


people,  naked,  and  the  admiral  landed  in  the  boat, 
which  was  armed,  along  with  Martin  Alonso  Pinzon 
and  Vicente  Yaflez,  his  brother,  captain  of  the  Nina. 
The  admiral  bore  the  royal  standard,  and  the  two  cap- 
tains each  a  banner  of  the  green  cross,  which  all  the 
vessels  had  carried.  The  banner  was  emblazoned  with 
the  initials  of  the  names  of  the  king  and  queen '  on 
each  side  of  the  cross,  with  a  crown  over  each  letter. 
When  they  came  on  the  beach,  they  saw  trees  very 
green,  an  abundance  of  water,  and  fruit  of  differ- 
ent kinds.  The  admiral  called  the  two  captains  and 
the  other  men  who  had  come  on  land,  and  Rodrigo  de 
Escovedo,  notary  of  the  fleet,  and  Rodrigo  Sancher  de 
Segovia,  and  said  that  he  had  summoned  them  to  bear 
witness  that  he,  before  all  other  men,  took  possession 
(as  in  act  he  did)  of  that  island  for  the  king  and  the 
queen,  his  sovereigns,  making  the  requisite  declarations 
which  are  more  at  large  set  down  in  the  instrument 
which  they  made  there  in  writing." 

The  natives  who  collected  around  the  Spaniards  at 
their  landing  are  thus  described  by  Columbus  :  "  I  per- 
ceived that  if  they  should  have  much  friendship  for  us 
that  it.  was  a  people  that  could  be  emancipated  and  con- 
verted to  our  holy  religion  better  by  love  than  by  force. 
I  gave  a  number  of  them  some  red  caps  and  some  beads 
of  glasS:  which  they  placed  around  their  necks,  and 
many  other  things  of  little  value,  with  which  they  were 

subject  in  the  winter  of  1878-79  in  the  Bahamas,  which  had  been  familiar 
cruising-ground  to  me,  has  resulted  in  the  selection  of  Samana  or  Atwood  Cay 
for  the  first  landing-place.  It  is  a  little  island,  8.8  miles  east  and  west,  1.6 
extreme  breadth,  and  averaging  T.2  north  and  south.  It  has  8.6  square  miles. 
The  east  end  is  in  latitude  23°  05'  N. ;  longitude,  73°  37'  west  of  Green- 
wich. *  *  *  Turk  is  smaller  than  Samana,  and  Cat  very  much  longer." — 
An  attempt  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  first  landing-place  of  Columbus  in  the 
New  World.  By  Captain  G.  V.  Fox,  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey, 
Appendix  No,  18.  Report  for  1880.  Washington,  1882.  pp.  43,  44, 
'  F  and  Y :    Fernando  and  Ysabel. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


109 


r.  .4 


much  pleased,  and  they  became  so  friendly  that  their 
attachment  seemed  strange  to  us.  Afterward  they 
came  swimming  to  the  boats  of  the  ships,  where  we 
were,  bringing  parrots  and  thread  of  cotton  in  hanks, 
javelins,  and  many  other  things,  which  they  exchanged 
for  other  articles  we  gave  them,  such  as  glass  beads 
and  little  bells.  Finally  they  took  every  thing  and 
gave  whatever  they  had  with  good-will.  But  to  me 
they  seemed  to  be  a  very  poor  people.  They  were 
all  naked,  just  as  they  were  born,  and  even  the  women, 
although  I  did  not  see  but  one  young  ^irh  All  the 
rest  I  saw  were  youths,  but  none  more  than  thirty 
years  of  age  ;  very  well  made,  of  good  shape,  and  very 
attractive  faces  ;  their  hair  coarse  as  that  of  the  tail  of 
a  horse,  and  short,  brought  over  the  forehead  to  the 
eyebrows,  except  a  little  on  the  back  of  the  head, 
which  is  longer  and  never  cut.  Some  paint  themselves 
black,  for  they  a^e  of  the  color  of  those  of  the  Canary 
Islands — neither  black  nor  white ;  others  paint  them- 
selves white  or  red,  or  with  any  color  they  find.  Some 
paint  their  faces,  and  some  their  bodies  ;  others  only 
their  eyes  or  their  noses.  They  carry  no  weapons  and 
they  have  no  knowledge  of  them  ;  for  w^en  I  showed 
them  swords  they  took  them  by  the  edge  and  they  cut 
themselves  through  ignorance.  They  have  no  iron. 
Their  javelins  are  rods  without  iron,  and  some  of  these 
have  at  the  end  a  fish-tooth,  and  others  have  other 
things.  All  of  them,  as  a  class,  a.^,  of  a  commanaing 
stature,  and  are  good-looking,  well  formed.  I  saw 
some  marks  of  wounds  on  their  bodies,  and  I  asked  by 
signs  what  had  caused  them.  They  answered  me  in 
the  same  way,  that  people  came  from  the  other  islands 
thereabout  to  capture  them,  and  they  defended  them- 
selves.    I  thought  then,  and  still  believe,  that  those 


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DISCOVERIES  OF   AMERICA. 


people  came  from  the  continent,  {ticrra  Jlftne,)  to  take 
them  prisoners.  They  ought  to  be  good  servants  and 
very  capable,  because  I  perceived  that  they  repeated 
very  readily  all  that  I  told  them,  and  I  believe  that 
they  would  easily  become  Christians,  for  tl  ey  seemed 
to  me  as  if  they  had  no  religion.  If  pleasing  .oour  Lord, 
I  shall  carry  from  this  place,  at  the  time  of  my  departure, 
six  of  them  to  your  highnesses,  in  order  that  they  may 
learn  to  talk  in  our  language.  I  did  not  see  any  animals 
of  any  kind  on  the  island,  except  parrots.  *  *  * 
••  Soon  after  day-break  [on  Saturday,  the  thirteenth 
of  October,]  many  of  these  people  came  to  the  beach,  as 
I  have  said,  all  youths  and  of  good  stature,  a  very 
handsome  people  ;  their  hair  not  curled,  but  straight 
and  coarse,  like  horse-hair,  and  all  with  faces  and  heads 
much  broader  than  any  other  race  that  I  have  seen  ; 
their  eyes  very  beautiful  and  not  small ;  they  were 
not  black,  but  the  color  of  those  of  ihe  Canaries, 
nor  ought  it  to  be  expected  otherwise,  for  it  is 
east-west  {Lesteottesie)  with  the  island  Ferro  of  the 
Canary  group,  on  the  same  parallel.'  *  *  *  They 
came  to  the  ship  in  canoes,  log-boats,  made  of  the 
trunks  of  trees,  all  of  one  piece,  and  fashioned  in  a 
wonderful  manner,  considering  the  country.  In  some 
of  the  large  ones  we  f>  as  many  as  forty  or  forty-five 
men,  and  in  others  tiiut  were  smaller  there  was  only 
one  person.  They  rowed  with  an  oar  resembling  the 
wooden  shovel  used  by  bakers,  and  went  wonderfully 
fast,  and  if  the  canoe  upset,  all  swam  and  set  it  right 
again,  bailing  it  out  with  calabashes  which  they  carried 
with  them.  They  brought  balls  of  spun  cotton,  and 
parrots,  and  javelins,  and  other  things  which  it  would  be 
tedious  to  describe,  and  which  they  parted  with  for 

'  The  real  position  of  this  island,  in  respect  to  that  of  Ferro,  is  E.  5°  N. 
The  port  of  Ferro  is  in  latitude  27°  46'  2'  N.  and  longitude  17°  54'  2'  W. 


DISCOVERIES  OF   AMERICA. 


Ill 


any  thing  that  was  given  them.  And  I  was  inquisitive 
and  endeavored  to  ascertain  if  they  had  gold,  ana  I 
saw  some  who  wore  small  pieces  hanging  from  holes 
in  their  noses,  and  I  learned  by  signs  that,  by  going  to. 
the  south,  or  by  going  around  the  island  to  the  south, 
I  would  find  a  king  who  had  large  vessels  made  of 
gold,  and  great  quantities  of  the  precious  metal."  ' 

Columbus  describing  this  island,  which  he  named 
San  Salvador  (the  Holy  Saviour),  under  whose  protec- 
tion he  had  made  the  discovery,  continues  :  •'  This  is 
a  large  and  level  island,  with  extremely  flourishing 
trees,  and  streams  of  water.  There  is  a  large  lake  in 
the  middle  of  the  island,  but  no  mountains.  It  is 
entirely  covered  with  verdure  and  it  is  delightful  to 
behold.  The  natives  are  an  inoffensive  people,  and  so 
desirous  to  possess  any  thing  they  saw  with  us  that 
they  kept  swimming  off  to  the  ships  with  whatever  they 
could  find,  and  readily  bartered  for  any  article  we  saw 
fit  to  give  them  in  return,  even  such  things  as  broken 
platters  and  pieces  of  glass.  I  saw  in  this  manner  six- 
teen balls  of  cotton  thread,  which  weighed  about 
twenty-five  pounds,  exchanged  for  three  Portuguese 
ceutis'  This  traffic  I  forbade,  and  permitted  no  one 
to  take  their  cotton  from  them,  unless  I  should  order  it 
to  be  procured  for  your  highnesses,  if  sufficient  quan- 
tities could  be  obtained.  It  grows  on  this  island,  but 
from  my  short  stay  here  I  could  not  inform  myself 
fully  respecting  it.  The  gold  they  wear  in  their  noses 
is  also  found  here.  But  not  to  lose  time,  I  am  deter- 
mined to  proceed  and  ascertain  whether  I  can  reach 
Cipango  (Japan).     *     *     * 

^Vide  Personal  narrative  of  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus  to  America. 
From  a  manuscript  recently  discovered  in  Spain.  Translated  from  he  Spanish. 
[By  Samuel  Kettell.]     Boston,  1827.     pp.  33-38. 

Historia  general  de  las  Indias.  Por  Bartolome  de  las  Casas.  lib.  i. 
cap.  xxxix-xli.  Coleccion  de  los  viages  y  descubrimientos.     I^  avarrete.  torn.  I. 

*  A  coin  of  less  value  than  a  mill. 


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112 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


ilvi 


"  In  the  morning,  [Sunday,  the  fourteenth  of  Octo- 
ber,] I  ordered  the  boats  to  be  manned  and  furnished, 
and  coasted  along  the  island  toward  the  north-north- 
east, to  examine  that  part  of  it,  for  we  had  landed  first 
on  the  eastern  part.  We  soon  discovered  two 
or  three  villages,  and  the  people  all  came  down  to 
the  shore,  calling  to  us,  and  giving  thanks  to 
God.  Some  brought  us  water,  and  others  food. 
Others  seeing  that  I  was  not  disposed  to  land  plunged 
into  the  sea  and  swam  to  us,  and  we  observed 
that  they  interrogated  us  to  know  if  we  had  come  from 
heaven.  An  old  man  came  on  board  my  boat.  The 
others, both  men  and  women,  cried  with  loud  voices  : 
'  Come  and  see  the  men  who  have  come  from  heaven  ! 
Bring  them  food  and  drink ! '  Thereupon  many  of 
both  sexes  came  to  the  beach,  every  one  bringing 
something,  giving  thanks  to  God,  prostrating  them- 
selves on  the  ground,  and  lifting  their  hands  to  heaven. 
They  called  to  us  loudly  to  come  on  land,  but  I  was 
apprehensive  on  account  of  a  reef  of  rocks^  which, 
except  where  there  is  a  narrow  entrance,  surrounds  the 
whole  island,  although  within  there  is  depth  of  water 
and  space  sufficient  for  all  the  ships  of  Christen- 
dom.    *     *     * 

"  After  I  had  taken  a  survey  of  these  parts,  I 
returned  to  ihe  ship.  Setting  sail,  I  discovered  so 
many  islands  that  I  knew  not  which  to  visit  first. 
The  natives  whom  I  had  taken  on  board  informed 
me  by  signs  that  there  were  so  many  of  them  that 
they  could  not  be  numbered.  They  repeated  the 
names  of  more  than  a  hundred.  I  determined  to 
steer  for  the  largest,  which  is  about  five  leagues  from 
San  Salvador ;  the  others  were  at  a  greater  or  less 
distance  from  this  island.     *     *     « 


ti; 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


MS 


"  We  stood  off  and  on  during  the  night  [of 
Monday,  the  fifteenth  of  October],  determining  not  to 
come  to  anchor  till  morning,  fearing  to  meet  with  shoals. 
We  continued  our  course  in  the  morning,  and  as  the 
island  was  found  to  be  six  or  seven  leagues  distant, 
and  the  tide  was  against  us,  it  was  noon  before  we 
arrived  there.  I  found  that  part  of  it,  toward  San 
Salvador,  extending  from  north  to  south  to  be  five 
leagues,  and  the  other  side,  along  which  we  coasted, 
running  from  east  to  west,  to  be  more  than  ten  leagues. 
From  this  island,  espying  a  still  larger  one  to  the 
west,  I  set  sail  in  that  dliection  and  kept  on  till  night 
without  reaching  the  western  extremity  of  the  island, 
where  I  gave  it  the  name  of  Santa  Maria  de  la 
Concepcion.  *  *  *  j  ^^^  ^^^  g^||  Cqj.  another 
large  island  to  the  west.  *  *  *  jj^jg  island  is 
nine  leagues  distant  from  Santa  Maria,  in  a  westerly 
direction.  This  part  of  it  extends  from  northwest 
to  southeast,  and  it  appears  to  be  twenty-eight  leagues 
long,  very  level,  without  any  mountains,  as  were  San 
Salvador  and  Santa  Matia,  having  a  good  shore  which 
was  not  rocky,  except  a  few  ledges  under  the  water, 
where  it  is  necessary  to  anchor  ac  some  distance  out, 
although  the  water  is  cleav  and  the  bottom  can  be 
seen.  *  *  * "  This  island  he  called  Fernandina, 
in  honor  of  the  king  of  Spain. 

On  Friday,  the  nineteenth  of  October,  he  descried 
an  island,  "  toward  which,"  he  remarks,  "  we  directed 
our  course,  and  before  noon  all  three  of  the  vessels 
arrived  at  the  northern  extremity,  where  a  rocky  islet 
and  reef  extend  towaid  the  north,  with  another  be- 
tween them  and  the  main  island.  The  Indians  on 
board  the  ships  called  this  island  Saomete.  I  named 
it  Isabela  |[in  honor  of  the  queen].     It  lies  westerly 


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114 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


from  the  island  of  Fernandina,  and  the  coast  extends 
from  the  islet  twelve  leagues  west  to  a  cape  I  called 
Cabo  Hermoso,  for  it  was  a  beautiful,  round  headland, 
with  a  bold  shore  free  from  shoals.  Part  of  the  shore 
is  rocky,  but  the  remainder  of  it,  like  most  of  the  coast 
here,  a  sandy  beach.  *  *  *  'pj^jg  island  is  the 
most  beautiful  that  I  have  yet  seen,  the  trees  in  great 
numbers,  flourishing  and  tall ;  the  land  is  higher  than 
the  other  islands,  and  exhibits  an  eminence,  which, 
though  it  cannot  be  called  a  mountain,  yet  it  adds  a 
charm  to  the  appearance  of  the  island,  and  indicates 
the  existence  of  streams  of  water  in  the  interior. 
From  this  part  toward  the  northeast  is  an  extens:  e 
bay,  with  many  large  and  dense  groves.  *  *  *  j 
am  not  solicitous  to  examine  particularly  every  thing 
here,  which,  indeed,  could  not  be  done  in  fifty  years, 
for  it  is  my  desire  to  make  all  possible  discoveries,  and 
return  to  your  highnesses,  if  it  please  our  Lord,  in 
April.  However,  should  I  meet  with  gold  or  spices  in 
great  quantity,  I  shall  remain  till  I  collect  as  much  as 
possible,  and  for  this  purpose  I  am  only  proceeding  in 
search  of  them."     *     *     * 

Under  the  date  of  Sunday,  the  twenty-first  of 
October,  while  at  anchor  off  the  island  of  Isabela, 
Columbus  writes  :  "  I  shall  depart  immediately,  if  the 
weather  serve,  and  sail  round  the  island  till  I  succeed 
in  meeting  v/ith  the  king,  in  order  to  see 


if  I 


ran 


acquire  any  of  the  gold  which,  I  hear,  he  possesses. 
Afterward  I  shall  set  sail  for  another  very  large  island, 
which  I  believe  to  be  Cipango,  according  to  the  signs 
I  receive  from  the  Indians  on  board.  They  call  the 
island  Colba  [Cuba],  and  say  there  are  many  large 
ships  and  sailors  there.  Another  island  the^  call 
Bosio,  and  inform  me  that  it  is  very  large.    The  others 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


115 


that  are  on  the  course  I  shall  examine  on  the  way,  and 
accordingly  as  I  find  gold  or  spices  in  abundance,  I 
shall  determine  what  to  do.  Nevertheless,  I  am 
determined  to  proceed  to  the  continent,  and  visit 
the  city  of  Guisay  [the  city  of  heaven,  the  residence 
of  the  Grand  Khan] ,  where  I  shall  deliver  the  letters  of 
your  high.iesses  to  the  Grand  Khan,  and  demand  an 
answer,  with  which  I  shall  return.     *     *     * 

"  Tuesday,  the  twenty-third  of  October.  *  *  * 
It  is  now  my  determination  to  depart  for  the  island  of 
Cuba,  which  I  believe  to  be  Cipango  from  the  accounts 
I  have  received  here  of  the  great  number  and  riches  of 
the  people.  I  have  abandoned  the  intention  of  staying 
here  and  sailing  rouiiu  the  island  in  search  of  the 
king,  as  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time,  and  I  perceive 
there  are  no  gold  mines  to  be  found.  *  *  *  And 
as  we  are  going  to  places  where  there  is  great  com- 
merce, I  judge  it  inexpedient  to  linger  on  the  way,  but 
to  proceed  and  survey  the  countries  we  meet  with,  till 
we  arrive  at  that  one  most  favorable  for  our  business. 
It  is  my  opiniop  that  we  shall  find  much  profit  there  in 
spices,  but  my  want  of  knowledge  in  these  articles 
occasions  ms  extreme  regret,  inasmuch  as  I  see  a 
thousand  kinds  of  trees,  each  kind  with  its  particular 
fruit,  and  as  flourishing  at  this  time  as  the  fields  in 
Spain  during  the  months  of  May  and  June.  Likewise 
a  thousand  kinds  of  herbs  and  flowers,  of  the  proper- 
ties of  which  I  remain  in  ignorance,  with  the  exception 
of  the  aloe,  which  I  have  directed  to-day  to  be  taken 
on  board  in  large  quantities  for  the  use  of  your  high- 
nesses.    *     *     * 

"  Wednesday,  the  twenty-fourth  of  October.  * 
*  *  At  midnight  weighed  anchor  and  set  sail  from 
Cabo  del  Isles  of  the  island  of  Isabela,  being  in  the 


If- 


m 


i 


u 


1 


t  i 

i; 
I 


i 


H 


il 


If 


. 


f.i 


ir 


\ 


V? 


ii6 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


north  part,  where  I  had  remained  preparing  to  depart 
for  the  island  of  Cuba,  in  which  pbce  the  Indians  tell 
me  I  shall  find  great  commerce,  with  abundance  of  gold 
and  spices,  and  large  ships,  and  merchants.  They 
direct  me  to  steer  toward  the  west-southwest,  which  is 
the  course  I  am  holding.  If  the  accounts  which  the 
natives  of  the  islands  and  thos*^  on  board  the  ships 
have  communicated  to  me  by  signs  (for  their  language 
I  do  not  understand)  are  credible,  this  must  be  the  island 
of  Cipango,  of  which  we  have  heard  so  many  wonder- 
ful things.  According  to  my  geographical  knowledge 
it  must  be  somewhere  in  this  neighborhood." 

On  Sunday,  the  twenty-eighth  of  October,  Colum- 
bus's ships  arrived  off  the  coast  of  Cuba  and  "  entered 
an  attractive  river,  free  from  shallows  and  all  other  ob- 
structions. *  *  *  'j'j^g  mouth  of  the  river  had  a 
depth  of  twelve  fathoms  of  water,  and  a  breadth  suffi- 
cient for  ships  to  beat  in.  They  anchored  within  the 
river,  and  the  admiral  remarks  that  the  scenery  here 
exceeded  in  beauty  any  thing  he  had  ever  seen,  the 
river  being  bordered  with  trees  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  luxuriant  foliage  of  a  peculiar  appearance,  and  its 
banks  covered  with  flowers  and  fruits  of  different  kinds. 
Birds  Avere  here  in  great  number  singing  most 
charmingly.  Numeror^  palm  trees  were  seen,  different 
from  those  of  Guinea  and  Spain,  not  having  the  same 
kind  of  bark.  They  were  of  a  moderate  height  and  bore 
very  large  leavv^s,  which  the  natives  used  to  cover  their 
houses.  The  land  appeared  quite  level.  The  admiral 
went  ashore  in  a  boat,  and  found  two  dwellings,  which 
he  supposed  to  be  those  of  fishermen,  and  that  the 
owners  had  fled.  He  found  in  one  of  them  a  dog  un- 
able to  bark.  Both  houses  contained  nets  of  palm, 
lines,  horn  fish-hooks,  harpoons  of  bone,  and  other 


" 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


117 


implements  for  fishing,  as  also  many  fire-places,  and  each 
house  seemed  sufficiendy  large  to  shelter  a  great  num- 
ber of  people.  The  admiral  gave  orders  that  nothing 
should  be  touched.  *  *  *  Xhey  returned  on  board 
the  boat  and  ascended  the  river  ^ome  distance.  *  * 
*  The  admiral  declares  this  to  be  the  most  beautiful 
island  ever  seen,  abounding  in  good  harbors  and  deep 
rivjrs,  with  a  shore  upon  which  it  appears  the  sea 
never  breaks  high,  as  the  grass  grows  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  a  thing  that  never  happens  where  the  sea 
is  rough.  Indeed,  a  high  sea  they  had  not  yet  had 
among  these  islands.  This  island,  he  says,  is  full  of 
attractive  mountains,  which  are  lofty,  although  not  of 
great  range.  The  rest  of  the  country  is  high,  similar 
to  Sicily,  abounding  in  streams,  as  they  understood 
from  the  Indians  of  Guanahani  that  were  on  board  the 
ships,  who  informed  them  by  signs  that  it  contained 
ten  large  rivers,  and  that  the  island  'vas  so  large  that 
with  their  canoes  they  could  not  sail  round  it  in  twenty 
days.  *  *  *  The  Indians  told  them  there  ^  are 
mines  of  gold  here  and  pearls.  *  *  *  Jhey  fur- 
ther informed  him  that  large  vessels  came  there  from 
the  Grand  Khan,  and  that  the  main-land  was  distant  a 
voyage  of  ten  days.  The  admiral  named  the  river  and 
port  San  Salvador."  Farther  westward,  along  the 
northern  side  of  the  island,  Columbus  discovered  the 
rivers  which  he  called  Rio  de  la  Luna  (River  of  the 
Moon),  and  the  Rio  de  Mares  (River  of  Seas).  The 
houses  which  were  built  on  the  shores  of  the  latter 
river,  he  says,  were  "the  finest  he  had  yet  seen,  and 
thinks,  the  nearer  he  approaches  the  continent,  they 
will  continue  to  itnprove.  They  were  of  a  large  size, 
built  in  the  shape  of  a  tent,  and  each  collection  of  them 
appeared  like  a  camp,  without  any  order  of  streets,  the 


ii8 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


houses  scattered  here  and  there.  Their  interiors  were 
found  very  clean  and  neat,  well  furnished  and  set  in 
order.  The  houses  were  all  buih  of  fine  palm  branches. 
They  found  herfe  many  statues  shaped  like  women,  and 
numerous  heads  somewhat  like  masks,  well  made ; 
whether  these  were  used  as  ornaments,  or  objfjcts  of 
worship,  did  not  appear.  Here,  about  the  houses, 
were  small  fowl  originally  wild,  but  now  tame." 

On  Tuesday,  the  thirtieth  of  October,  '•  they  sailed 
from  the  river  which  they  had  named  Rio  de  Mares,  and 
standing  to  the  northwest,  discovered  a  cape  covered 
with  palm  trees,  which  the  admiral  called  Cabo  de  Pal- 
mas  ;  it  is  fifteen  leagues  distant  from  the  place  of  their 
depar^^Tire.  The  Indians  on  board  the  Pinta  signified  to 
the  Spaniards,  that  beyond  this  cape  was  a  river,  and 
from  this  ri''c:r  to  Cuba  was  a  distance  of  a  voyage  or  a 
journey  of  four  days.  The  captain  of  the  Pinta  de- 
clared that  he  understood  Cuba  to  be  a  city,  and  that  the 
land  here  was  a  continent  of  great  extent  w^ich 
stretched  far  to  the  north  ;  also  that  the  king  of  this 
country  was  at  war  with  the  Grand  Khan,  whom  the  In- 
dians called  Cami,  and  his  country  or  city,  Fava  and 
other  names.  The  admiral  determined  to  steer  for 
this  river,  and  to  send  a  present  and  the  letter  of  the 
Spanish  sovereigns  to  the  king.  *  *  *  Seemingly 
the  admiral  was  forty-two  degrees  distant  from  the 
equator  toward  the  north,  if  the  manuscript  is  not  cor- 
rupted from  which  I  [Las  Casas]  have  taken  this 
[information],  and  he  says  that  he  had  undertaken  to 
go  to  the  Grand  Khan,  who,  he  thinks,  was  near 
there  or  in  the  city  of  Cathay  of  the  Grand  Khan, 
which  city  is  very  large  according  to  what  was  told 
before  he  departed  from  Spain." 

The  vessels  having  returned  on  Wednesday  to  the 
Rio  de  Mares  fron-  a  short  exploration  of  the  coast,  the 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


119 


admiral  at  sunrise,  on  Thursday,  sent  some  of  his  men 
ashore  "  to  visit  the  houses  they  saw  there.  They 
■found  the  inhabitants  had  all  fled,  but  after  some  time 
they  espied  a  man.  The  admiral  then  sent  c  ne  of  his 
Indians  ashore,  who  called  to  him  from  a  distance  and 
bade  him  not  to  fear  any  harm  as  the  Spaniards  were 
a  friendly  people,  not  injuring  any  one  nor  belonging 
to  the  Grand  Khan,  but  on  the  contrary  had  made 
many  presents  of  their  goods  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
islands.  The  natives,  having  ascertained  that  no  ill 
treatment  was  intended  them,  regained  confidence,  and 
came  in  more  than  sixteen  canoes  to  the  vessels,  bring- 
ing cotton  yarn  and  other  things,  which  the  admiral 
ordered  should  not  be  taken  from  them,  as  he  wished 
them  to  understand  that  he  was  in  search  of  nothing  but 
gold,  which  they  called  nucay.  All  day  the  canoes 
passed  between  the  ships  and  the  shore.  The  admiral 
saw  no  gold  among  them,  but  remarks  that,  having  ob- 
served an  Indian  with  a  piece  of  wrought  silver  in  his 
nose,  he  conceived  it  to  be  an  indication  of  the  exist- 
ence of  that  metal  in  the  country.  The  Indians  in- 
formed them  by  signs  that  within  three  days  many 
traders  would  come  there  from  the  interior  to  purchase 
the  goods  of  the  Spaniards  to  whom  the  traders  would 
communicate  news  of  the  king,  who,  as  far  as  could  be 
learned  from  the  signs  of  the  natives,  resided  at  a 
place  that  was  a  journey  of  four  days  from  there. 
They  informed  the  Spaniards  also  that  many  persons 
hdC  been  sent  to  tell  the  king  respecting  the  admiral. 
These  people  were  found  to  be  of  the  same  race  and 
manners  as  those  already  seen,  without  any  religion 
that  could  be  discovered.  The  Spaniards  never  saw 
the  Indians  who  were  kept  on  board  whe  vessels  en- 
gaged in  any  act  of  worship,  but  they  would,  when  di- 


;    . 


:  .< 


I20 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


,'i' 


reeled,  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  repe  t  the  Salve 
and  Ave  Maria,  with  their  hands  extended  toward 
heaven.  The  language  is  the  same  throughout  these 
islands  and  Ihe  people  friendly  toward  one  another, 
which  the  admiral  says  he  believes  to  be  the  case  in 
all  the  neighboring  parts,  and  that  they  are  at  war  with 
the  Grand  Khan.whom  they  call  Cavila,  and  his  country 
Bafan.  These  people  go  naked  as  the  others.  *  *  * 
It  is  certain,  says  the  admiral,  that  this  is  the  continent, 
and  that  we  are  in  the  neighborhood  of  Zayto  and 
Guinsay,  a  hundred  leagues  more  or  less  distant  from 
the  one  or  the  other."  ' 

With  his  thoughts  all  aglow  with  his  seeming 
power  to  prove  the  correctness  of  his  geographical 
conjecture  that  he  had  reached  the  eastern  coast  of 
Asia,  Columbus  sent  from  this  place,  on  the  second  of 
November,  Rodrigo  de  Jerez  of  Ayamonte,  and  Luis 
de  Torres,  a  Jew,  (the  latter  having  lived  with  the 
adelantado  of  Murcia,  and  who  knew  Hebrew,  Chal-. 
daic,  and  some  Arabic,)  and  two  Indians,  into  the 
interior  of  the  island,  with  letters  to  the  Grand  Khan 
of  Cathay.  "He  gave  them  strings  of  beads  to  pur- 
chase provisions,  and  directed  them  to  return  within 
six  days.  Specimens  of  spicery  were  intrusted  to  them 
that  they  might  know  if  any  thing  similar  existed  in 
the  country.  He  took  care  to  instruct  them  how  they 
should  inquire  for  the  king,  and  what  they  were  to  say 
to  inform  him  that  the  king  and  queen  of  Castile  had 

'From  this  point,  says  Humboldt,  as  related  by  Columbus's  friend,  the 
Cura  de  los  Palacios,  "  he  proposed,  if  he  had  provision  enough  '  to  continue  his 
course  westward,  and  to  return  to  Spain,  either  by  water,  by  way  of  Ceylon 
(Taprobane)  rodeando  todo  la  tierra  de  los  Negros,  or  by  land,  through  Jerusalem 
and  Jaffa.'  *  •  •  See  the  important  manuscript  of  Andres  Bernaldez,  Cura 
de  la  villa  de  los  Palacios  (Historia  de  los  Reyes  Catolicos,  cap.  123).  This 
history  comprises  the  years  from  1488  to  1513.  Bernaldez  had  received  Colum- 
bus into  his  house,  in  1496,  on  his  return  from  his  second  voyage." — Hum- 
boldt :  Cosmos.  Otte's  trans,  vol.  ii.  p.  640,  and  note. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


121 


dispatched  him  with  letters  and  a  present  for  his  majesty. 
Furthermore,  the  envoys  were  instructed  to  obtain 
some  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  observe  the  ports 
and  rivers,  with  their  distances  from  the  place  where 
the  ships  lay.  Here  the  admiral  took  this  night  the 
altitude  with  a  quadrant,  and  found  that  he  was  forty- 
two  degrees  from  the  equator,  and  by  his  calculation 
eleven  hundred  and  forty-two  leagues  from  Ferro,  and 
he  was  confident  that  it  was  the  continent."  ' 

Among  the  noticeable  things  which  the  embassa- 
dors observed  while  journeying  into  the  interior  of 
Cuba  was  the  common  use  of  tobacco  by  the  natives. 
"  The  two  Spaniards,"  says  Las  Casas,  "  met  upon 
their  journey  great  numbers  of  people  of  both  sexes  : 
the  men  always  with  a  firebrand  in  their  hands  and 
certain  herbs  for  smoking.  These  were  dry  and  were 
placed  in  a  dry  leaf,  after  the  manner  of  those  paper 
tubes  which  the  boys  in  Spain  use  at  Whitsuntide. 
Lighting  one  end,  they  drew  the  smoke  by  sucking  at 
the  other.  This  causes  drowsiness  and  a  kind  of  in- 
toxication, and  according  to  the  statement  of  the  natives 
relieves  them  from  the  feeling  of  fatigue.  These  tubes 
they  call  by  the  name  oi  tabacos."  ' 

While  waiting  the  return  of  the  embassadors  to  the 
Grand  Khan,  Columbus  acquired  some  knowledge  of 
the  productions  of  Cuba.  "  The  soil  is  very  fertile,  pro- 
ducing mames,  a  root  like  a  carrot,  tasting  like  chest- 
nuts. Be*ans  are  also  found  here  but  very  dissimilar 
to  ours ;  also  cotton,  growing  spontaneously  among 
the  mountains.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  gathered 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  for  I  observed  upon  a  single 

'  The  real  distance  is  said  to  be  eleven  hundred  and  five  leagues. —  Vide  Per- 
sonal narrative  of  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus  to  America.    [Kettell.]   pp.  38-73. 

*  Historia  gene  al  de  las  Indias.  Las  Casas.  cap.  xlvi.  Coleccion  de  los 
viages  y  descubrimientos.     Navarrete.     torn.  i. 


f 


;  t 


I! 


v^l 


i1 


li 


11 


122 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


plant  blossoms,  buds,  and  open  pods.  A  thousand 
otlier  productions  I  have  also  observed,  which  doubt- 
less are  of  great  value,  but  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
describe  them." 

On  the  fifth  of  November,  the  party  sent  to  the 
Grand  Kahn  returned,  and  gave  these  particulars  of 
their  journey  :  "After  having  travelled  a  dozen  leagues 
they  came  to  a  town  containing  about  fifty  houses, 
where  there  were  probably  a  thousand  inhabitants  ; 
each  house  containing  a  large  number  of  people.  The 
houses  were  built  after  the  manner  of  largfe  tents.  The 
inhabitants  received  them,  after  their  fashion,  with  great 
ceremony.  The  men  and  women  flocked  to  behold 
them,  and  they  were  lodged  in  their  best  houses.  They 
showed  their  admiration  and  reverence  by  touching 
the  strangers,  kissing  their  hands  and  feet,  and  mani- 
festing astonishment.  They  imagined  them  to  be  from 
heaven,  and  signified  as  much  to  them.  They  were 
feasted  with  such  food  as  the  natives  had  to  offer. 
Upon  their  arrival  at  the  town  the  chief  men  of  the 
place  led  them  by  the  arms  to  the  principal  building ; 
here  they  gave  them  seats,  and  the  Indians  sat  upon 
the  ground  in  a  circle  round  them.  The  Indians  who 
had  accompanied  the  Spaniards  explained  to  the 
natives  the  manner  in  which  their  strange  guests 
lived,  and  gave  a  favorable  account  of  their  character. 
The  men  then  left  the  building,  and  the  women  entered, 
and  sat  around  the  Spaniards  as  the  men  had 
done.  They  kissed  their  hands  and  feet  and  examined 
them  to  see  whether  they  were  flesh  and  bone  like 
their  own.  *  *  *  j^Jq  village  was  seen  upon  the 
roadofalarger  size  than  five  houses.  *  *  *  Great 
numbers  of  birds  were  observed,  all  different  from 
those  of  Spain  except  the  nightingaks,  which  delighted 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


133 


them  with  their  songs.  Partridges  and  geese  were 
also  found  in  great  number.  Of  quadrupeds  they  saw 
none  except  dogs  that  could  not  bark.  The  soil  appeared 
fertile  and  under  good  cultivation,  prgducing  the 
mantes  already  mentioned  and  beans  very  dissimilar 
to  ours,  as  well  as  the  grain  called  panic.  They  saw 
large  quantities  of  cotton,  spun  and  manufactured. 
A  single  house  contained  more  than  five  hundred 
arrobas^  of  it.  Four  thousand  quintals  might  be  collect- 
ed here  yearly.  *  *  *  Xhese  people  are  inoffen- 
sive and  peaceable.  They  are  unclothed,  but  the  women 
wear  a  slight  covering. about  their  loins.  Their  man- 
ners are  very  decent,  and  their  complexion  not  very 
dark,  but  lighter  than  the  inhabitants  of  the  Canary 
Islands.  '  I  have  no  doubt,  most  serene  sovereigns,' 
say;,  the  admiral,  '  that  were  some  proper,  devout,  and 
religious  persons  to  come  among  them  and  learn  their 
language,  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  convert  them 
all  to  Christianity,  and  I  hope  in  our  Lord  that  your 
highnesses  will  devote  yourselves  with  much  diligence 
to  this  object,  and  bring  as  great  a  multitude  into  the 
church,  inasmuch  as  you  have  exterminated  those  who 
refused  to  confess  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.' 

"  *  I  have  observed  that  these  people  have  no  religion, 
neither  are  they  idolaters,  but  are  a  very  gentle  race, 
without  the  knowledge  of  any  iniquity.  They  neither 
kill,  steal,  nor  carry  weapons,  and  are  so  timid  that  one 
^  of  our  men  can  put  a  hundred  of  them  to  flight,  al- 
though they  readily  sport  and  play  tricks  with  them. 
They  have  the  knowledge  that  there  is  a  God  above, 
and  are  firmly  persuaded  that  we  have  come  from 
heaven.  They  quickly  learn  such  prayers  as  we  re- 
peat to  them,  and  also  to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross.' 

aN       4:        4: 

'An  arroba  is  equal  to  twenty-five  pounds. 


>f'.!; 


•  i  '• 


.{     IB:' 


■I 


m 


124 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


•'  Along  the  Rio  de  Mares,  which  I  left  last  evening, 
[Sunday,  the  eleventh  of  November,]  there  is  undoubt- 
edly considerable  mastic,  and  the  quantity  might  be 
increased,  for  the  trees  when  transplanted  easily  take 
root.  They  are  of  a  lofty  size,  bearing  leaves  and  fruit 
like  the  lentisk.  The  tree,  however,  is  taller  and  has  a 
larger  leaf  than  the  lentisk,  as  is  mentioned  by  Pliny, 
and  as  I  have  myself  observ^e'l  in  the  island  of  Scio,  in 
the  Archipelago.  I  ordered  many  of  these  trees  to  be 
tapped  in  order  to  extract  the  resin,  but  as  the  weather 
was  rainy  all  the  time  I  was  on  the  river,  I  was  unable 
to  procure  more  than  a  very  small  quantity,  which  I 
have  preserved  for  your  highnesses.  *  *  *  Great 
quantities  of  cotton  might  be  raised  here,  and  sold 
profitably,  as  I  think,  without  being  carried  to  Spain 
but  to  the  cities  of  the  Grand  Khan,  which  we  sh 
doubtless  discover,  as  well  as  many  others  belonging  ^v^ 
other  sovereigns.  These  may  become  a  source  of 
profit  to  your  highnesses  by  trading  there  with  the 
productions  of  Spain  and  of  the  other  countries  of 
Europe.  Here  also  is  to  be  found  plenty  of  aloe, 
which,  however,  is  not  of  very  great  value,  but  the 
mastic  assuredly  is,  as  it  is  found  nowhere  else  than  in 
the  previously  mentioned  island  of  Scio,  where,  if  I 
rightly  remember,  it  is  produced  to  the  amount  of  fifty 
thousand  ducats  annually." 

Columbus  further  remarks,  that  at  this  point,  near 
the  river  which  he  had  called  Rio  del  Sol,  "  he  found 
the  weather  somewhat  cold,  and,  as  it  was  in  the  win- 
ter, he  thought  it  not  prudent  to  prosecute  his  discov- 
eries any  farther  toward  the  north." ' 

'  Las  Casas  remarks :  "  From  what  he  here  relates,  it  appears  that  had  he 
proceeded  farther  northerly  he  would  undoubtedly,  in  two  more  days,  have  dis- 
covered Florida." — MS.  of  Las  Casas.  Vide  Personal  narrative  of  the  first 
voyage  of  Columbus  to  America.    [Kettell.]    pp.  73>86. 


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'HtFfnrjtmnt  AUattntil^rnMii  mn€nhtflrparCiitsaf» 


A  c  py  of  a  part  of  the  map  of  the  New  World  (tabvlu  terre  nove)  contained  in  the  edition 
of  Ptolemy's  Geography  printed  at  Strasburg  in  1513.  (This  part  of  the  original  is  9^^  inches 
long.) 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


125 


Speaking  of  his  explorations  along  the  coast  of 
Cuba,  in  his  letter  to  Rafael  Sanchez,  the  admiral  says : 
"  I  sailed  along  its  coast  toward  the  west,  discovering 
so  great  an  extent  of  territory  that  I  could  not  imagine 
it  to  be  an  island,  but  the  continent  of  Cathay.  *  *  * 
I  continued  on  my  course,  still  expecting  to  meet  with 
some  town  or  city,  but  after  having  gone  a  great  dis- 
tance, and  not  arriving  at  any,  and  finding  myself 
proceedinsf  toward  the  north,  which  I  was  desirous  to 
avoid  on  account  of  the  cold,  and,  moreover,  meeting 
with  a  contrary  wind,  I  determined  to  return  to  the  south, 
and  therefore  put  about  and  sailed  back  to  a  harbor  that 
I  had  observed."  * 

On  Monday,  the  twelfth  of  November,  they  had 
sailed  by  sunset  eighteen  leagues,  east  by  south,  to  a 
cape  which  Columbus  called  Cabo  de  Cuba.  "  On  the 
following  Wednesday  he  entered  a  spacious  and  deep 
harbor,"  containing  so  many  islands  that  they  could  not 
be  counted.  *  *  *  j^^  declares  that  it  is  his  opin- 
ion these  islands  are  the  innumerable  ones  which,  on 
the  maps,  are  placed  at  the  extreme  part  of  the  East, 
and  says  that  he  believes  they  contain  great  riches, 
precious  stones,  and  spicery,  and  extend  far  to  the  south, 
spreading  out  on  each  side.  He  named  this  place  La 
Mar  de  Nuestra  Senora,  and  the  port,  near  the  strait 
that  extends  to  these  islands,  Puerto  del  Principe." 

On  Wednesday,  the  twenty-first  of  November, 
when  the  vessels  were  about  eigb*;y  miles  southeast  of 
Puerto  del  Principe,  "the  admiral"  says  Las  Casas, 
"  found  they  were  fort)  two  degrees  north  of  the 
equator  as  at  Puerto  de  Ivlares,'  but  he  says  here  that 
he  has  stopped  using  the  quadrant  until  he  should  go 

'  Letter  of  Columbus  to  Rafael  (or  Gabriel)  Sanchez,  dated  Lisbon,  March 

14,  1493- 

*"Only  21°  of  latitude."— Nav»"'ete. 


!  f 


t  I 


itVt 


126 


DISCO^^ERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


on  land  that  he  might  mend  it.  From  this  statement 
it  would  seem  that  he  doubted  that  he  was  so  far  from 
file  equator,  and  he  had  reason,  for  it  was  not  likely 

since  these  islands  are  in  degrees.'     To  know 

whether  the  quadrant  was  in  good  working  order,  it  is 
said  that  he  took  an  observation  to  see  if  he  was  north 
as  high  as  Castile  ;  and  if  this  be  true,  and  he  was  as 
high  as  Florida,  what  is  the  situation  of  the  islands 
already  mentioned  ? '  Moreover,  it  is  said  that  the 
heat  was  great.  It  is  evident  that  if  he  were  along 
the  coast  of  Florids,  it  should  not  have  been  hot,  but 
cold.3  A.nd  it  is  also  manifest  that  in  no  part  of  the 
world  in  the  latitude  of  forty-two  degrees  is  great  heat 
experienced  except  by  some  accidental  cause,  and  even 
this  exception  I  [Las  Casas]  believe  has  never  been 
known." 

A  number  of  other  places  were  sailed  to  by  the 
inquisitive  navigator,  which,  in  the  chronological  order 
of  their  discovery,  he  named  Puerto  de  Santa  Cata- 
lina,  Cabo  del  Pico,  Cabo  de  Campana,  and  Puerto 

i         'A  blank  space  in  the  original. 

'The  island  of  Cuba  lies  between  19°  50'  and  23°  10'  north  latitude,  and 
74°  7'  and  84°  58'  west  longitude.  Florida  is  about  one  hundred  and  thirty 
miles  north  of  Cuba. 

'  The  argument  of  Las  Casas  concerning  the  heat  at  forty-two  degrees 
north  lacitude  is  invalidated  by  Columbus's  reasons  for  not  sailing  farther  tu  the 
north.  In  his  letter  to  Rafp.el  Sanchez  he  says  :  "  Finding  myself  proceeding 
toward  the  north,  which  I  was  desirous  to  avoid  on  account  of  the  cold,  and, 
moreover,  meeting  with  a  contrary  wind,  I  determined  to  return  to  the  south." 
It  would  seem  that  Columbus  was  unable  to  satisfy  his  own  doubts  respecting 
the  latitude  of  the  places  in  tl  e  North  to  which  he  had  sailed.  If  he  had  not 
mentioned  that  he  was  in  doubt  respecting  the  working  condition  of  his  quad- 
rant, the  question  of  his  sailing  as  far  north  as  the  forty-second  parallel  would 
be  an  important  matter  for  geographical  discussion.  Navarrete  says :  "The 
qu.idrants  of  that  time  measured  the  double  altitude,  and  consequently  the 
forty-two  degrees  which  Colambus  says  he  was  distant  from  the  equator  are  to 
be  reduced  to  twenty-one  north  latitude,  which  is  the  parallel  to  which  he  had 
sailed." — Vide  Coleccion  de  los  viages  y  descubrimienios.  Navarrete.  tom.  i. 
pp.  44,  47,  62.  Personal  narrative  of  the  first  voyage  of  Columbua  to  AmericA. 
[Kettell.]    p.  95. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


127 


Santo.  At  this  last-named  harbor,  on  Saturday,  the  first 
of  December,  "  they  planted  a  cross  in  the  solid  rock." 
Thence  he  sailed  to  Cabo  Lindo,  and  thence  to  Cabo 
del  Monte.  Qn  Wednesday,  the  fifth  of  December, 
"  he  determined  to  leave  Cuba  or  Juana,'  which 
hitherto  he  had  taken  for  a  continent  on  account 
of  its  size,  having  sailed  along  the  coast  a  hundred  and 
twenty  leagues.  He  therefore  left  the  shore  and 
steered  southeast  by  east,  as  the  land  last  discovered 
appeared  in  that  direction.  He  took  this  course  be- 
cause the  wind  always  came  round  from  the  north  to 
northeast,  and  from  there  to  east  aqd  southeast.  It 
blew  hard  and  they  carried  ail  sail,  having  a  smooth 
sea  and  a  current  favoring  them,  so  that  from  morning 
to  one  in  the  afternoon  ..hey  had  sailed  eight  miles  an 
hour  for  nearly  six  hours.  The  nights  here  are  said  to 
be  nearly  fifteen  hours  long.  After  this  they  went 
ten  miles  an  hour,  and  by  sunset  had  sailed  toward  the 
southeast  eighty-eight  miles,  which  are  twenty-two 
leagues." 

On  Thursday,  the  sixth  of  December,  Columbus 
"  found  himself  four  leagues  from  the  harbor  named 
Puerto  Maria."  From  this  place  he  descried  several 
headlands  to  which  he  respectively  gave  the  names  of 
Cabo  del  Estrella,  Cabo  del  Elefante,  and  Cabo  de 
Cinquin.  "There  appeared  to  be  between  the  two 
last-mentioned  capes  a  very  wide  channel,  which  the 
sailors  said  separated  an  island  from  the  mainland. 
This  island  he  named  Tortuga.  The  land  here  ap- 
peared high,  and  not  mountainous,  but  even  and  level, 
like  the  finest  arable  tracts.  The  whole  or  the  great 
part  of  it  seemed  to  be  cultivated,  and  the  plantations 

'  Ferdinand  Columbus  says  the  admiral  called  the  island  of  Cuba,  Juana, 
in  honor  of  Prince  Juan,  heir  of  Castile. —  Vide  Histoire  d^l  S.  D.  Fernando 
Colombo,     cap.  xxvi. 


128 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


I- 


m 


resembled  the  wheat  fields  in  the  plain  of  Cordova  in 
the  month  of  May." 

In  the  evening  the  ships  entered  the  harbor 
"  which  he  named  Puerto  de  San  Nicolas,  for  it  was 
the  day  of  that  saint."  On  Friday  he  found  the  har- 
bor which  he  named  Puerto  de  la  Concepcion.  This 
harbor  "  is  about  a  thousand  paces  or  a  quarter  of  a 
league  wide  at  the  mouth,  without  a  bank  or  a  shoal, 
but  exceedingly  deep  to  the  edge  of  the  beach.  It 
extends  almost  three  thousand  paces,  with  a  fine  clear 
bottom.  Any  ship  may  enter  it  and  anchor  without 
the  least  hazard.  Here  are  two  small  streams,  and 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  several  plains,  the 
most  beautiful  in  the  world,  resembling  those  of  Cas- 
tile, except  that  they  surpass  them.  On  this  account 
the  admiral  named  the  island  Espaiiola."  * 

On  Wednesday,  the  twelfth- of  December,  "  a  large 
cross  was  set  up  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  upon  a 
beautiful  spot  upon  the  western  side,  'as  an  indication,' 
in  the  words  of  the  admiral,  '  that  your  highnesses 
possess  the  country,  and  particularly  for  a  memorial  of 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord,  and  the  mark  of  Christianity.' 
*  *  *  The  admiral  here  ascertained  the  length  of 
the  day  and  night,  and  found  that  from  sunrise  to  sun- 
set there  passed  twenty  glasses  of  half  an  hour  each, 
although  he  says  there  may  be  some  error  in  the  cal- 
culation, as  the  glass  may  not  have  been  turned  quickly 
enough,  or  the  contrary.  He  states  further,  that  he 
took  an  observation  with  the  astrolabe  and  found  the 
latitude  to  be  seventeen  degrees.      *     *     * 

"The  people  here  were  all  naked,  king  as  well 

'  The  island  of  Espaiiola,  which  the  nat  ves  called  Haiti,  lies  between 
17°  36'  and  19°  59'  north  latitude,  and  68°  20'  and  74°  38'  west  longitude.  It 
is  about  fifty  miles  east-southeast  of  Cuba  and  about  seventy-five  west-northwest 
of  Porto  Rico.     It  is  now  called  Hayti  or  San  Domingo. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


129 


as  subjects,  the  females  showir.g  no  evidences  of  bash- 
fulness.  Both  sexes  were  more  handsome  than  those 
they  had  hitherto  seen.  Their  color  was  light,  and  if 
they  were  clothed  and  protected  from  the  sun  and  air 
they  would  almost  be  as  fair  as  the  inhabitants  of  Spain. 
The  temperature  of  ^e  air  was  cool  and  excj^.edingly 
pleasant.  The  land  is  h'gh,  covered  with  plains 
and  valleys,  and  the  highest  mountains  are  arable.  No 
part  of  Castile  could  produce  a  territory  comparable  to 
this  in  beauty  and  fertility.  The  whole  island  and  that 
of  Tortuga  are  covered  with  cultivated  fields,  like  the 
plain  of  Cordova.  In  these  they  raise  ajes,  which  are 
slips  set  in  the  ground,  at  the  end  of  which  roots  grow 
like  carrots.  They  grate  these  to  powder,  knead  it, 
and  make  it  into  bread  of  a  very  pleasant  taste,  like 
that  of  chestnuts.  The  stalk  is  set  out  anew  and  pro- 
duces another  root,  and  this  is  repeated  four  or  five 
times.  The  largest  and  most  excellent  that  had  been 
met  with  anywhere  (the  admiral  says  they  are  also 
found  in  Guinea)  were  those  of  this  island,  being  of  the 
size  of  a  man's  leg.  The  natives  here,  according  to  the 
statement  of  the  adrulral,  were  stoutly  built  and  coura- 
geous, very  different  from  the  timid  islanders  of  the 
other  parts  ;  agreeable  In  their  intercourse  and  without 
any  religion.  *  *  *  Xhey  saw  a  native  whom  the 
admiral  took  to  be  the  governor  of  the  district,  and 
whom  the  Indians  called  the  cacique.  He  had  a  plate 
of  gold  as  large  as  one's  hand,  with  which  he  seemed 
desirous  of  bartering.  He  carried  it  to  his  house  and 
had  it  cut  into  pieces,  which  he  traded  away  one  by 
one." 

One  of  the  caciques  of  the  island  sent  a  messenger 
to  Columbus  bearing  as  a  present  to  him  "  a  girdle,  to 
which  was  attached,  instead  of  a  pouch,  a  mask  having 
the  nose,  tongue,  and  ears  of  beaten  gold." 


130 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


!■  -     J 


I       .* 


-  ii\ 


I 


"I  think,"  Columbus  writes,  "  no  one  who  has  3een 
these  parts  can  say  less  in  their  praise  than  I 
have  said.  I  repeat  that  it  is  a  matter  of  wonder  to 
see  the  things  we  have  beheld,  and  the  multitudes  of 
people  in  this  island,  which  I  call  Espanola,  and  the 
Indians  Bohio.  The  natives  are  singularly  agreeable  in 
their  intercourse  and  conversation  with  us,  and  are  not 
like  the  others,  who,  when  they  speak,  appear  to  be 
uttering  menaces.  The  figures  of  the  men  and  women  ' 
are  fine,  and  their  color  is  not  black,  although  they 
paint  themselves.  The  most  of  them  paint  themselves 
red,  others  a  dark  hue,  and  others  different  colors,  which, 
I  understand,  ih  done  to  keep  the  sun  from  injuring 
them.  The  houses  and  towns  are  very  attractive,  and 
the  inhabitants  live  in  each  settlement  nnder  the  rule 
of  a  sovereign  or  judge,  to  whom  they  pay  implicit 
obedience.  These  magistrates  are  persons  of  excellent 
manners  and  great  reserve,  and  give  their  orders  by  a 
sign  with  the  hand,  which  is  understood  by  all  the 
people  with  surprising  quickness." 

On  Monday,  the  twenty-fourth  of  December,  as 
Columbus's  ship,  the  Santa  Maria,  was  running  along 
the  north  side  of  Espafiola,  off  the  headland  named 
Punta  Santa,  "  at  the  end  of  the  first  watch,  'bout 
eleven  at  night,  when  the  vessel  was  about  a  leag  le  dis- 
tant from  the  point  of  land,  the  admiral  lay  down  to 
sleep,  having  taken  no  rest  for  two  days  and  a  night. 
As  the  sea  was  calm,  the  man  at  the  helm  left  his  post 
to  a  boy,  and  also  went  off  to  sleep,  contrary  to 
the  explicit  orders  of  the  admiral,  who  had  throughout 
the  voyage  forbidden,  in  calm  or  storm,  the  helm  to  be 
intrusted  to  a  boy.  The  admiral  was  free  from  any 
dread  of  rocks  or  shoals,  for  the  Sunday  before,  when 
he  sent  the  sailors  in  boats  to  the  king  who  had  invited 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


131 


"  1 

,51 


him  to  visit  him,  they  had  passed  three  and  a  half 
leagues  to  the  east  of  Punta  Santa,  and  had  surveyed 
the  whole  coast  for  three  leagues  beyond  that  point, 
and  ascertained  where  the  vessels  might  pass,  a 
thing  never  done  before  in  the  whole  voyage.  But  as 
it  pleased  our  Lord,  at  midnight  there  being  a  dead 
calm  and  the  sea  perfectly  motionless,  as  in  a  cup,  the 
whole  crew,  seeing  the  admiral  had  retired,  went  off  to 
sleep,  leaving  the  ship  in  the  care  of  the  boy  already 
mentioned.  The  current  carried  her  imperceptibly 
toward  the  shoals  in  the  neighborhood,  upon  which  she 
struck  with  a  noise  that  could  have  been  heard  a  league 
off." 

Although  every  thing  was  done  to  keep  the  damaged 
vessel  afloat  by  Columbus  and  the  few  men  who  re- 
mained on  board,  "  she  opened  between  her  ribs  and 
slowly  settled  down  on  the  shoal."  On  the  morning  of 
Christmas  the  ship  was  unloaded  with  the  assistance  of 
the  natives,  who  with  their  canoes  conveyed  the  goods 
in  her  to  the  beach.  These  were  afterward  stowed  in 
some  houses  which  the  cacique  of  the  regi  jn  had  offered 
to  Columbus  for  that  purpose.  The  same  ruler  after- 
ward gave  the  admiral  a  large  mask,  with  pieces  of  gold 
at  the  ears,  eyes,  and  other  parts  of  it,  and  also  some 
jewels  of  the  same  metal.  "All  these  things  had  a  great 
effect  upon  the  admiral  in  ^issuaging  his  grief  for  the 
loss  of  his  ship,  and  he  became  convinced  that  our 
Lord  had  permitted  the  shipwreck  in  order  that  he 
might  select  this  place  for  a  settlement. 

"  'And  to  this  end,'  he  says,  '  so  many  favorable 
things  conspired,  that  it  cannot  be  called  a  disaster,  but 
a  great  turn  of  good  fortune,  for  if  we  had  not  run 
aground,  we  should  have  kept  off  without  anchoring 
here,  the  place  being  in  a  large  bay  inside  of  two  or 


132 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


'<• 


three  shoals.  Neither  should  I  otherwise  have  been 
induced  to  leave  any  men  in  these  parts  during"  the 
voyage ;  even  if  I  had,  I  could  not  have  spared  them  the 
needful  provisions  and  materials  for  their  fortification. 
Many  of  my  crew  have  solicited  me  for  permission  to 
remain,  and  I  have  to-day  [Wednesday,  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  December]  ordered  the  construction  of  a  fort, 
with  a  tower  and  a  ditch,  all  to  be  well  built,  not  that  I 
think  such  a  fortification  necessary  as  a  defence  against 
the  inhabitants,  for  I  have  already  stated  that  with  my 
present  crew  I  could  subjugate  the  whole  island,  which 
I  believe  to  be  larger  than  the  kingdom  of  Portugal, 
and  twice  as  populous,  but  that  I  think  it  prudent,  since 
the  territory  is  at  such  a  distance  from  our  country,  and 
that  the  natives  may  understand  the  genius  of  the 
people  of  your  highnesses  and  what  they  are  able  to 
perform,  so  that  they  may  be  held  in  obedience  by  fear 
as  well  as  by  love.  For  this  purpose  I  have  directed 
that  a  quantity  of  timber  for  the  construction  of  the  fort 
shall  be  provided,  also  bread  and  wine  be  left  to  suffice 
for  more  than  a  year,  seed  for  planting,  the  long-boat  of 
the  ship,  a  calker,  a  carpenter,  a  gunner,  a  cooper,  and 
many  other  persons  of  the  number  of  those  who  have 
earnestly  desired  to  serve  your  highnesses,  and  oblige 
me  by  remaining  here  and  searching  for  the  gold 


mme. 


The  admiral  further  remarks  "  that  every  piece  of 
the  ship  was  saved,  for  not  even  so  much  as  a  thong, 
board,  or  nail  was  lost,  for  she  was  as  complete  as 
when  she  first  sailed,  except  that  which  was  lost  by 
cutting  her  to  get  out  the  casks  and  merchandise. 
These  were  carried  on  shore  and  well  secured,  as  has 
already  been  mentioned.  He  adds  that  he  hop^s  to 
find,  on  his  return  from  Castile,-  a  ton  of  gold  collected 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


133 


by  those  who  remained,  by  tradinor  with  the  natives, 
and  that  they  will  have  succeeded  in  discovering  the 
mine  and  the  spices,  and  all  these  in  such  quantities 
that  before  three  years  the  king  and  queen  may  under- 
take the  recovery  of  the  holy  sepulchre.  '  For  I  have 
before  proposed  to  your  highnesses,'  he  writes,  '  that 
the  profits  of  this  undertaking  should  be  employed  in 
the  conquest  of  Jerusalem,  at  which  your  highnesses 
smiled  and  said  you  were  pleased,  and  had  the  same 
inclination.' " 

"  He  left  on  the  island  of  Espafio!a,  which  the  In- 
dians called  Bohio,  a  fort  and  thirty-nine  men,  whom 
he  states  to  have  been  great  friends  of  King  Gua- 
canagari.  Over  these  he  placed  Diego  de  Arana,  a 
natiA-^e  of  Cordova,  Pedro  Gutierrez,  groom  of  the  king's 
wardrobe,  and  Rodrigo  de  Escovedo,  a  native  of  Seville 
and  nephew  of  Fray  Rodrigo  Perez,  with  all  the 
powers  the  king  and  queen  had  delegated  to  him.  He 
left  them  all  the  goods  which  had  been  sent  for  trafick- 
ing,  a  great  quantity,  and  every  thing  belonging  to  the 
ship  which  had  been  wrecked.  The  goods  he  directed 
should  be  traded  away  for  gold." 

In  commemoration  of  the  day  of  Christ's  nativity, 
on  which  his  ship  was  wrecked  at  this  place,  he  called  the 
settlement  Villa  de  la  Navidad  (city  of  the  Nativity). 
He  further  writes  in  his  journal  that  "  he  had  heard 
of  another  island  behind  that  of  Juana,  toward  the  south, 
in  which  there  was  a  still  greater  quantity  of  gold,  and 
where  it  was  found  in  grains  of  the  size  of  a  bean. 
*  *  *  This  island  was  called  by  the  Indians  Ya- 
maye."  ^ 

"  It  was  the  admiral's  intention  to  coast  farther 
along  the  island  of  Espafiola,  which  he  might  have 

'  Apparently  the  original  name  of  Jamaica.  The  island  of  Jamaica  is  about 
eighty-five  miles  from  Cuba. 


134 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


•■'  . 


done  upon  his  homeward  course,  but  as  he  considered 
that  the  captains  of  the  two  caravels  were  brothers, 
namely,  Martin  Alonso  Pinzon  and  Vicente  Yafiez,  and 
that  they  had  a  party  attached  to  them,  and  that  they  and 
their  partisans  had  manifested  considerable  haughtiness 
and  avarice,  disobeying  his  commands  regardless  of  the 
honors  he  had  conferred  upon  them,  which  misde- 
meanors, as  well  as  the  treachery  of  Martin  Alonso,  in 
deserting  him,'  he  had  winked  at,  without  complaining, 
in  order  not  to  throw  impediments  in  t^  e  way  of  the 
voyage — he  thought  it  best  to  return  home  as  quickly 
as  possible.  He  adds  that  he  had  many  faithful  men 
among  his  crews,  but  resolved  to  overlook  for  the  time 
the  behavior  of  the  refractory  ones,  and  not  at  such  an 
unfavorable  season  undertake  to  punish  them." 

On  Tuesday,  the  fifteenth  of  January,  while  the 
caravels  were  anchored  in  the  bay  which  he  called  the 
Golfo  de  las  Flechas  (the  Gulf  of  Arrows),  he  describes 
the  weapons  of  the  natives.  "  The  bows,"  he  says, 
"  are  equal  in  size  to  those  of  France  and  England, 
and  the  arrows  like  the  javelins  used  by  the  inhabitants 
o^  the  other  islands,  which  are  m^de  of  the  stalks  of  the 
cane  while  it  is  in  seed.  They  are  very  straight,  about 
a  yard  and  a  half  in  length,  and  doubled,  with  a  sharp 
piece  of  wood,  a  span  and  a  half  long,  at  the  end.  At 
the  point  of  this  some  attach  a  fish's  tooth,  but  the 
most  of  them  grass.  *  *  *  fhe  bows  of  the  In- 
dians appear  to  be  made  of  yew."  The  quantity  of 
sea- weed  which  he  found  growing  in  this  bay  led  Colum- 
bus to  infer  that  the  Indies  were  near  the  Canary 
Islands,  not  more  than  four  hundred  leagues  distant. 

On  Wednesday  morning,  the  sixteenth  of  January, 

'  On  the  twenty-first  of  November,  1492,  Martin  Alonso  Pinzon,  in  the 
Finta,  had  left  the  other  vessels  and  remained  avtray  from  them  until  the  sixth 
of  January,  1493. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


135 


they  set  sail  from  the  Golfo  de  las  Flechas,  to  go  to  the 
island  of  Carib.  "After  sailing  sixty-four  miles,  as  they 
estimated,  the  Indians  on  board  signified  that  the  island 
was  to  the  southeast,  when  they  altered  their  course, 
and  [)roceeded  in  that  direction,  and  after  sailing  several 
leagues  the  wind  freshened  and  blew  very  favorably 
for  their  return  to  Spain.  The  crews  began  to  grow 
despondent  at  leaving  their  homeward  course,  on  ac- 
count of  the  leaky  condition  of  the  vessels,  (for  there 
was  no  remedy  for  it  but  the  help  of  God,)  and  the 
admiral  found  himself  constrained  to  change  his  course 
again,  and  steer  directly  for  Spain."  ' 

Columbus,  afterward  writing  to  Rafael  Sanchez  re- 
specting his  explorations  along  the  coast  of  Espanola, 
remarks  that  the  island  of  Espanola  is  "greater  in  cir- 
cuit than  all  of  Spain,  from  Colibre  in  Catalonia,  near 
Perpignan,  round  the  coast  of  the  sea  of  Spain,  along 
Granada,  Portugal,  Galicia,  and  Biscay,  to  Fuenterabia, 
at  the  cape  of  Biscay.  *  *  *  Each  native,  as  far  as 
I  can  understand,  has  one  wife,  with  the  exception  of 
the  king  and  princes,  who  are  permitted  to  have  as  many 
as  twenty.  The  women  appear  to  do  more  work  than 
the  men.  Whether  there  exist  any  such  thing  here 
as  private  property,  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain. 
I  have  seen  an  individual  appointed  to  distribute  to 
the  others,  especially  food  and  such  things. 

"  People  of  an  extraordinary  description  I  did  not 
see,  neither  did  I  hear  of  any,  except  those  of  the  island 
Caris,  which  is  the  second  island  on  the  way  from 
Espanola  to  India.  This  island  is  inhabited  by  a  people 
who  are  regarded  by  their  neighbors  as  exceedingly 
ferocious.  They  feed  upon  human  flesh.  These  peo- 
ple have  many  kinds  of  canoes  with  which  they  make 

'MS.  of  Las  Casas. —  Vide  Personal  narrative  of  the  first  voyage  of  Colum- 
bus to  America.     [Kettell.]    pp.  86-205. 


I 


}  1- 


'A 


f 


li 


'PI 


li  ! 


1 

I 


4 
I  t 


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;;ia 

■X 


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!(i 


136 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


incursions  upon  all  the  islands  of  India,  robbing  and 
plundering  wherever  they  go.  Their  difference  from 
the  others  consists  in  their  wearing  long  Iiair  like  that 
of  women,  and  in  using  bows  and  arrows  of  cane  ; 
these  last  constructed,  as  I  have  already  related,  by 
fixing  a  piece  of  sharpened  wood  at  the  larger  end. 
On  this  account  they  are  considered  very  ferocious  by 
the  other  Indians,  and  are  much  feared  by  them."  ' 

:  Speaking  of  the  pecuniary  profits  of  the  voyage 
Columbus  wrote :  "  I  am  enabled  to  promise  the  ac- 
quisition, by  a  trifling  assistance  from  their  majesties, 
of  any  quantity  of  gold,  drugs,  cotton,  and  mastic, 
which  last  article  is  found  in  the  island  of  Scio ;  also, 
any  quantity  of  aloe,  and  as  many  slaves  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  marine  as  their  majesties  may  need.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  rhubarb  and  a  great  variety  of 
other  things  which,  I  have  no  doubt,  will  be  discovered 
by  those  I  have  left  at  the  fort,  as  I  did  not  stop  at  any 
single  place,  unless  obliged  to  do  so  by  the  weather 
with  the  exception  of  Villa  de  la  Navidad,  where  we 
remained  some  time  to  '  lild  the  fort  and  provide  the 
necessary  means  for  the. defence  of  the  place. 

"  Although  the  discoveries  actually  accomplished 
appear  great  and  surprising,  yet  I  should  have  achieved 
much  more  had  I  been  furnished  with  a  suitable  f)eet. 
Nevertheless  the  greet  success  of  this  undertaking  is 
not  to  be  ascribed  to  my  own  merits,  but  to  the  holy 
catholic  faith  and  to  the  piety  of  our  sovereigns, 
the  Lord  often  granting  to  men  what  they  never 
imagine  themselves  capable  of  accomplishing,  even 
that  which  appears  impracticable,  for  he  is  accustomed 
to  hear  the  prayers  of  his  servants  and  those  who  love 
his  commandments.     In  this  way  has  it  happened  to  me 

'  Columbus's  letter  to  Rafael  Sanchez. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


137 


that  I  have  succeeded  in  an  undertaking  never  before 
accomplished  by  man." ' 

On  Thursday  night,  the  fourteenth  of  February,  a 
violent  tempest  arose,  "  the  waves  crossing  and  dash- 
ing against  one  another  so  that  the  vessel  [the  Nina] 
was  overwhelmed,  and  not  able  to  get  out  from  between 
them.  The  foresail  was  set  very  low,  in  order  to  carry 
her  somewhat  out  of  her  dangerous  situation.  They 
stood  under  it  for  three  hours,  going  twenty  miles, 
when  the  wind  and  sea  increasing,  they  began  to  drive 
before  it,  not  having  any  other  deliverance.  At  the 
same  time  the  Pinta,  in  which  was  Martin  Alonso 
Pinzon,  began  to  scud  likewise,  and  they  soon  lost  sight 
of  her,  although  the  two  caravels  made  signals  to  each 
other  with  lights,  until  from  the  fury  of  the  storm  they 
were  no  longer  visible."  The  fear  of  being  lost  now 
overcame  Columbus  and  his  men.  They  prayed  and 
made  many  vows.  "  The  admiral  ordered  that  lots 
should  be  cast  for  one  of  them  [if  they  safely  reached 
land]  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Santa  Maria  of  Guada- 
lupe and  carry  a  wax  taper  of  five  pounds'  weight.  He 
made  them  all  to  take  an  oath  that  the  one  on  whom  the 
lot  fell  should  perform  the  pilgrimage.  For  this  pur- 
pose as  many  peas  were  selected  as  there  were  persons 
on  board.  One  of  the  peas  was  marked  with  a  cross, 
and  all  were  shaken  together  in  a  cap.  The  first  who 
put  his  hand  into  the  cap  was  the  admiral,  and  he  drew 
out  the  crossed  pea.  So  the  lot  fell  on  him,  and  he 
considered  himself  as  bound  to  accomplish  the  pil- 
grimage. Another  lot  was  taken  for  a  pilgrimage  to 
Santa  Maria  of  Loretto,  in  the  province  of  Ancona, 
the  territory  of  the  pope,  where  is  the  house  in  which 
Our  Lady  has  performed  so  many  miracles.     This  lot 

'  Columbus's  letter  to  Rafael  Sanchez. 


'J-T 


If- 


i' 


11 


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fi 


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I 


If*' 


(. 


138 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


fell  on  a  sailor  of  Puerto  de  Santa  Maria,  called  Pedro 
de  Villa.  The  admiral  promised  to  furnish  him  with 
the  money  '"or  his  expenses.  A  third  lot  was  deter- 
mined upon  for  the  selection  of  a  person  who  should 
watch  a  whole  night  in  Santa  Clara  de  Moguer,  and 
have  a  mass  said  there.  This  lot  fell  on  the  admiral. 
After  this  he  and  all  the  crew  made  a  vow  to  go  in 
procession,  clothed  in  penitential  garments,  to  the  first 
church  dedicated  to  Our  Lady  which  they  should  meet 
with  on  arriving  on  land,  and  there  pay  their  devotions. 
Besides  these  general  vows,  every  individual  made  a 
private  one,  all  expecting  to  be  lost,  so  terrible  was  the 
violence  of  the  hurricane.  Their  danger  was  increased 
by  the  want  of  ballast  in  the  vessel,  *  *  *  which 
the  admiral  had  neglected  to  supply  among  the  islands, 
because  he  wished  to  husband  his  time  in  making  dis- 
coveries, and  expected  to  take  in  ballast  at  the  island 
of  Matinino,  which  he  intended  to  visit.  The  only 
thing  that  they  could  do  in  this  emergency  was  to  fill 
with  sea- water  such  empty  casks  as  they  could  find, 
and  by  doing  this  they  obtained  some  relief. 

"  Here  the  admiral  speaks  of  the  circumstances 
which  caused  him  to  fear  that  our  Lord  would  suffer 
them  to  perish,  and  of  some  which  made  him  hope 
that  he  would  bring  them  safe  to  land,  and  not  allow 
the  important  information  they  were  carrying  to  the 
king  and  queen  to  be  lost.  He  seems  to  have  felt 
the  greatest  anxiety  to  have  his  wonderful  discovery 
known,  so  that  the  world  might  be  convinced  that  his 
assertions  had  been  correct  and  that  he  had  accom- 
plished what  he  had  professed  himself  able  to  do.  The 
thought  of  this  not  being  done  gave  him  the  greatest 
disquietude,  and  he  was  constantly  apprehending  that 
the  most  trifling  thing  might  defeat  his  whole  intention. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


139 


He  ascribes  this  to  his  want  of  faith  and  confidence  in 
a  divine  providence,  but  comforts  himself  by  reflecting 
upon  the  many  mercies  God  had  shown  him  in  having 
enabled  him  to  succeed  in  his  project,  when  so  many 
adversities  and  hindrances  opposed  him  in  Castile,  and 
afterward  to  accomplish  his  great  discovery.  And  as 
he  had  made  the  service  of  God  the  aim  and  business 
of  his  undertaking,  and  as  he  had  hitherto  favored  him 
by  granting  all  his  desires,  he  ind  ilges  in  the  hope  that 
he  will  continue  to  favor  him,  ana  will  give  him  a  safe 
return.  He  also  remembered  that  God  had  delivered 
him  on  the  outward  voyage,  when  he  had  much  greater 
reason  to  fear ;  that  the  eternal  God  gave  him  reso- 
lution and  courage  to  withstand  his  men  when  they 
conspired  against  him  and  with  a  unanimous  and 
menacing  determination  resolved  to  turn  back.  With 
these  thoughts,  and  the  consideration  of  other  wonder- 
ful favors  he  had  enjoyed,  he  says  he  ought  not  to  be 
in  fear  of  the  tempest ;  but  he  adds  that  his  apprehen- 
sions and  the  anguish  of  his  mind  would  not  allow  him 
to  rest.  Besides,  he  continues,  his  anxiety  was  in- 
creased by  reflecting  upon  the  condition  of  his  two 
sons  whom  he  had  left  at  their  studies  in  Cordova, — . 
these  would  be  left  orphans  in  a  foreign  land,  and  the 
king  and  queen  being  ignorant  of  the  services  he  had 
rendered  them  by  the  voyage,  would  not  feel  any 
inclination  to  provide  for  them.  On  this  account,  and 
that  their  highnesses  might  be  informed  that  our  Lord 
had  granted  success  to  the  undertaking  in  the  discovery 
of  the  Indies,  and  might  know  that  storms  did  not  pre- 
vail in  those  regions  (which  was  apparent  from  the 
plants  and  trees  growing  down  to  the  brink  of  the  sea), 
he  devised  the  means  of  acquainting  them  with  the 
circumstances  of  the  voyage  in  case  they  should  perish 


.a^ 


!'>■ 


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I  1^1 


i 


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i; 


140 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


in  the  storm.  This  he  did  by  writing  an  account  of  it  on 
parchment,  as  full  as  possible,  and  earnestly  entreated 
the  finder  to  carry  it  to  the  king  and  queen  of  Spain. 
The  parchment  was  rolled  up  in  a  waxed  cloth  and 
well  tied.  A  large  wooden  cask  being  brought,  he 
placed  the  roll  inside  of  it,  and  threw  the  cask  into 
the  sea,  none  of  the  crew  knowing  what  it  was,  but  all 
thinking  that  it  was  some  act  of  devotion."  ' 

On  the  sixteenth  of  February  the  Nina  reached  the 
Azores,  and  two  days  afterward  was  riding  at  anchor  at 
the  island  of  Santa  Maria.  Departing  from  the  Azores 
on  the  twenty-fourth  of  February,  the  Nina  again  en- 
countered another  storm,  which  caused  Columbus  to 
take  refuge  in  the  mouth  of  the  river  Tagus,  on  the 
fourth  of  March.  From  this  roadstead  he  sent  a 
courier  overland  to  Spain  bearing  the  intelligence  of 
his  arrival  at  this  haven  on  the  coast  of  Portugal,  and 
another  to  the  king  of  Portugal  to  ask  permission  to 
anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Lisbon. 

When,  on  the  sixth  of  March,  it  became  known  in 
Lisbon,  says  Ferdinand  Columbus,  "  that  the  ship  came 
from  the  Indies,  such  throngs  of  people  went  aboard 
to  see  the  Indians  and  to  hear  the  news,  that  the  ves- 
sel could  not  contain  them,  and  the  water  was  covered 
with  boats,  some  of  the  people  praising  God  for  the 
success  of  so  great  an  undertaking,  and  others  storming 
because  the  Portuguese  had  lost  the  discovery  through 
the  king's  incredulity.     *     *     *     'j-j^g  jjgj^j.  ^^^^y  ^j^^ 

king  wrote  to  the  admiral  congratulating  him  on  his 
safe  return,  and  expressing  the  desire,  since  the  admiral 
was  in  his  dominions,  that  he  would  visit  him  [at  Val- 
paraiso, nine  leagues  from  Lisbon].  *  *  *  'Yhe 
king  ordered  all  the  nobility  of  his  court  to  go  out  to 

'  MS.  of  Las  Casas. —  Fide  Personal  narrative  of  the  first  voyage  of  Colum- 
bus to  America.     [Kettell.]    pp.  215-222. 


'\i% 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


141 


i 


meet  him,  and  when  the  admiral  came  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  king,  he  honored  him  by  commanding  him 
to  put  on  his  cap  and  to  sit  down.  The  king,  having 
heard  the  particulars  of  his  fortunate  voyage,  offered 
him  all  he  stood  in  need  of  for  the  service  of  their 
catholic  majesties,  although  he  thought  that  as  the 
admiral  had  been  a  captain  in  the  service  of  Portugal, 
that  the  discovery  belonged  to  him.  To  which  the  ad- 
miral answered  that  he  knew  of  no  agreement  by  which 
he  could  obtain  it,  and  that  he  had  strictly  obeyed  his 
orders,  which  were  that  he  should  not  go  to  the  mines 
of  Portugal  or  to  Guinea.  The  king  said  that  it  was 
all  well,  and  he  did  not  doubt  but  justice  would  be 
done.  Having  spent  considerable  time  in  this  conver- 
sation, the  king  commanded  the  prior  of  Crato,  the 
greatest  man  then  about  him,  to  entertain  the  admiral, 
and  show  him  all  civility  and  respect,  wh'ch  was  done 
accordingly.  Having  remained  there  all  Sun-iay,  and 
all  Monday  until  after  mas*?;  the  admiral  took  leave  of 
the  king.  *  *  *  As  he  was  on  his  way  to  Lisbon, 
he  passed  a  monastery,  where  the  queen  was,  who  sent 
him  an  earnest  ntreatythat  he  would  not  pass  by  without 
seeing  her.  ^he  was  much  pleased  to  see  him,  and 
bestowed  upon  him  all  he  favor  and  honor  that  were 
due  to  the  greatest  lord.  That  night  a  messenger  came 
from  the  kin  to  the  admiral;  to  inform  him  that  if  he 
wished  to  go  v  land  to  Spain  he  would  attend  him, 
provide  lodgings  on  the  way,  and  furnish  him  all  that 
he  might  require,  as  far  as  the  borders  of  Portugal. 

"  On  Wednesday,  the  thirteenth  of  March,  two 
hours  after  daylight,  the  admiral  set  sail  for  Seville, 
and,  on  Friday  following,  at  noon,  arrived  at  Saltes, 
and  came  to  anchor  in  the  port  of  Palos,'  from  which 

'  Martin  Alonso  Pinzon  had  previously  arrived  in  Galicia. 


li 


*  ( 


m 


i 


^  i 


142 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


\r : 


he  had  departed  on  the  third  of  August,  the  previous 
year,  1492,  seven  months  and  eleven  days  preceding 
his  return."  ^ 

Desiring  as  early  as  possible  to  make  known  his 
return  and  his  remarkable  discoveries,  Columbus,  as 
soon  as  his  vessel  came  to  anchor,  sent  letters  to  several 
of  his  friends,  in  which  he  gave  brief  descriptions  of 
the  people  and  of  the  islands  which  he  had  found,  as 
he  believed,  in  the  eastern  part  of  Asia.  One  of  these 
letters,  that  addressed  on  the  fourteenth  of  March  to 
Rafael  or  Gabriel  Sanchez,  treasurer  of  Spain,  was 
shortly  afterward  translated  into  Latin  and  printed  at 
Rome.  The  title  given  to  the  letter  expresses  the 
popular  belief  respecting  the  situation  of  the  discovered 
islands  :  "  A  letter  of  Christopher  Columbus,  to  whom 
our  age  is  greatly  indebted,  respecting  the  islands  of 
India  lately  found  beyond  the  Ganges."  ' 

Conscious  of  the  greatness  of  h"s  discovery,  Colum- 
bus enthusiastically  closes  his  letter  with  these  words  : 
"  And  now  the  king,  the  queen,  the  princes,  and  all 
their  dominions,  as  well  as  the  whole  of  Christendom, 
ought  to  give  thanks  to  our  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  who 
has  granted  us  such  an  achievement  and  success.    Let 

'  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  xli,  xlii. 

'  Epistola  Christofori  Colom  :  cui  etas  nostra  multu  debit :  de  Insulis  Indie 
supra  Gangem  nuper  inuetis.  Ad  quas  perqrendas  octauo  antea  mense  au- 
spicies  &  ere  invictissimor'  Fernadi  &  Helisabet  Hispaniar'  Regu  missus 
fuerat :  ad  magnificum  dnm  Gabrielem  Sanchis  eorunde  Serenissimor'  Regum 
Tesaurariu  missa  :  quia  nobilis  ac  literatus  vir  Leander  de  Cosco  ab  Hispano 
ideomate  in  latinum  couertit  tertio  kal's  Mail  m.cccc.xciii  Pontificatus  Alexan- 
dri  Sexli  anno  primo. 

A  letter  of  Christopher  Columbus,  to  whom  our  age  is  greatly  indebted, 
tespecting  the  islands  of  India  lately  found  beyond  the  Ganges.  In  search  of 
which  he  was  sent  eight  months  ago  under  the  auspices  and  at  the  expense  of 
the  most  invincible  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  sovereigns  of  Spain.  Sent  to  the 
magnificent  lord,  Gabriel  Sanchez,  treasurer  of  the  same  most  serene  king,  and 
which  the  noble  and  learned  man,  Leander  de  Cosco,  translated  from  the 
Spanish  idiom  into  Latin.  The  third  day  of  the  calends  of  May,  1493.  Pon- 
tificate of  Alexander  VI.,  £.rst  year. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


143 


processions  be  ordered,  let  solemn  festivals  be  cele- 
brated, let  the  churches  be  filled  with  boughs  and 
flowers." 

When  his  father  landed  at  Palos,  "  he  was  received 
there,"  says  Ferdinand  Columbus,  "  by  all  the  people 
in  procession,  giving  thanks  to  God  for  his  fortunate 
success,  which,  it  was  hoped,  would  contribute  greatly 
to  propagate  the  Christian  religion  and  enlarge  their 
majesties'  dominions.  All  the  inhabitants  of  the  place 
considered  it  a  matter  of  no  little  fame  that  the  admiral 
had  sailed  from  that  port,  and  that  most  of  the  men  he 
had  with  him  belonged  to  it,  though  many  of  them, 
through  [Martin  Alonso]  Pinzon's  fault,  had  been  mu- 
tinous and  disobedient.  *  *  *  The  admiral  then 
proceeded  toward  Seville,  intending  to  go  from  there 
to  Barcelona  where  their  catholic  majesties  were.  He 
was  compelled  to  tarry  a  little  along  the  way  thither, 
though  it  were  ever  so  little,  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of 
the  people  where  he  went,  who  came  from  the  neigh- 
boring towns  to  the  road  along  which  he  journeyed  to 
see  him,  the  Indians,  and  the  other  things  he  brought. 
Proceeding  in  this  manner,  he  reached  Barcelona  about 
the  middle  of  April,  having  previously  sent  their  high- 
nesses an  account  of  the  good  fortune  attending  his 
voyage,  which  exceedingly  pleased  them,  and  they  ap- 
pointed him  a  most  impressive  reception  as  a  man  that 
had  performed  for  them  an  extraordinary  commission. 
All  the  court  and  city  went  out  to  meet  him.  Their 
catholic  majesties  sat  in  public  in  great  state,  on  costly 
chairs,  under  a  canopy  of  gold-cloth  ;  and  when  he  ap- 
,  proached  to  kiss  their  hands  they  arose  as  to  a  great 
lord,  and  were  unwilling  to  give  him  their  hands,  and 
caused  him  to  sit  down  by  them.  When  he  had  given 
them  a  brief  account  of  his  voyage,  they  permitted 


■  i 


'I 


I 


•(' 


1 


144 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


him  to  retire  to  his  apartment,  to  which  he  was  at- 
tended by  all  the  couit.  And  he  was  so  highly 
honored  and  favored  by  their  highnesses,  that  when 
the  king  rode  about  Barcelona,  the  admiral  was  on  one 
side  of  him,  and  the  Infante  Fortuna  on  the  other,  for 
before  this,  no  one  rode  by  the  side  of  his  majesty  but 
the  Infante,  who  was  his  near  kinsman."' 

Galvano,  speaking  of  the  enthusiasm  created  by 
Columbus's  return,  says:  "Hereupon  there  arose  so 
extraordinary  a  desire  to  travel  among  the  Spaniards 
that  they  were  ready  to  leap  into  the  sea  to  swim,  if  it 
had  been  possible,  unto  these  new  lands."' 

*  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  xlii. 

*  Tratado,  que  compos  o  nobre  &  notauel  capitEo  Antonio  GaluSo. 


CHAPTER    V. 


i493-i5o6. 

The  Spanish  sovereigns,  in  order  to  obtain  the 
privilege  of  extending  their  sway  over  the  islands  dis- 
covered by  Columbus,  immediately  sent  embassadors 
to  Rome  to  request  Pope  Alexander  VI.  to  confirm 
the  title  of  Spain  to  the  recently  found  lands,  for  it 
was  then  believed  that  the  pope  had  sole  and  absolute 
authority  to  dispose  of  all  countries  inhabited  by 
heathen  peoples.  Pope  Martin  V.  and  his  successors 
had  already  granted  to  the  crown  of  Portugal  the 
possession  of  all  the  lands  it  might  acquire  by  right  of 
discovery  beyond  Cape  Bojador  toward  the  East.  Pope 
Alexander  VI.,  to  reward  the  Spaniards  for  wresting 
Spain  from  the  Moors,  issued  a  bull,  on  the  fourth  of 
May,  1493,  establishing  a  line  of  limitation,  running 
from  the  north  to  the  south  pole,  distant  one  hundred 
league^'  west  of  the  Azores  and  the  Cape  Verd  Islands, 
giving  to  Spain  all  the  lands  she  had  discovered  or 
might  discover  west  of  it,  which  had  not  been  acquired 
by  any  Christian  power  before  the  preceding  Christ- 
mas, and  to  Portugal  all  the  territory,  on  the  same 
conditions,  which  lay  east  of  it.  These  territorial  con- 
cessions of  the  pope  caused  the  possessions  of  Spain, 
in  the  western  hemisphere,  to  be  called  the  West  In- 
dies, and  those  of  Portugal,  in  the  eastern  hemisphere, 
the  East  Indies.  The  position  of  the  line  of  demarka 
tion  displeased  the  Portuguese.    To  settle  the  dispute 

145 


i.  "P" 


146 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


Ill 


;; 


t  / 


which  it  caused,  the  two  countries  sent  commissioners 
to  Tordesillas,  Spain,  who  agreed,  on  the  seventh  of 
June,  1494,  that  the  position  of  the  line  should  be 
changed  so  that  it  should  pass,  north  and  south,  three 
hundred  and  seventy  leagues  west  of  the  Cape  Verd 
Islands. 

Meanwhile  In  Spain  a  fleet  of  seventeen  ships  had 
been  fitted  out  to  sail  to  the  Indies  in  the  West.  About 
fifteen  hundred  Spanish  adventurers  took  passage  on 
the  different  vessels,  which  were  freighted  with  agri- 
cultural and  mining  implements,  horses,  cattle,  and 
stores  of  various  kinds,  necessary  for  planting  colonies 
on  the  newly-discovered  islands.  Commanded  by 
Columbus,  the  fleet  weighed  anchor  in  the  roadstead 
of  Cadiz,  on  Wednesday,  the  twenty-fifth  of  Septem- 
ber, 1493,  and  thence  sailed  toward  the  West  India 
archipelago. 

After  a  voyage  of  thirty-eight  days  the  fleet  reached 
the  island  of  Dominica.  The  approach  of  Columbus 
to  the  field  of  his  former  explorations  is  thus  described  : 
"  On  Saturday  night,  the  second  of  November,  the 
admiral  perceiving  a  great  change  in  the  sky  and 
winds,  and  having  observed  the  heavy  rains,  and  be- 
lieving that  he  was  near  land,  ordered  most  of  the  sails 
to  be  furled,  and  commanded  all  to  be  upon  the  watch, 
and  not  without  cause  for  that  same  night,  at  day- 
break, land  was  descried  seven  leagues  to  the  west- 
ward, a  high  mountainous  island,  which  he  called 
Dominica  (Sunday),  because  it  was  discovered  on 
Sunday  morning.  Shortly  afterward  he  saw  another 
island,  northeast  of  Dominica,  and  then  another,  and 
another  after  that,  more  northward.  For  this  blessing 
which  God  had  been  please^  to  bestov/  on  them,  all 
the  men  assembled  on  deck  and  sang  the  Salve  Regina., 


i 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


147 


and  other  prayers  and  hymns  very  devoutly,  giving 
thanks  to  God,  because  in  twenty  days  after  departing 
from  Gomera,  [one  of  the  Canary  Islands,]  they  had 
made  that  land,  estimating  the  distance  betv/een  them 
to  bfi  between  seven  hundred  and  fifty  and  eight  hun- 
dred leagues.  Finding  no  convenient  harbor  in  which 
to  anchor  on  the  east  side  of  Dominica,  they  stood  for 
another  island,  which  the  admiral  called  Marigalante, 
which  was  the  name  of  his  ship." '  Thence  he  pro- 
ceeded northward  '•  to  a  large  island  which  he  called 
Santa  Maria  de  Guadalupe,  to  honor  her  and  the 
request  of  the  friars  of  the  house  of  that  name,  to 
whom  he  had  made  promise  to  call  some  island  by  the 
name  of  their  monastery.  *  *  *  Going  ashore  in 
the  boat  to  view  a  village  which  they  had  observed, 
they  found  none  of  the  inhabitants  in  it,  the  people 
having  Asd  to  the  woods,  except  some  children  to 
whose  arms  they  tied  some  baubles  to  allure  their 
fathers  when  they  returned.  In  the  houses  they  found 
geese  like  ours,  a  great  number  of  parrots,  with  red, 
green,  blue,  and  white  feathers,  as  large  as  common 
cocks.  They  also  found  pumpkins,  and  a  kind  of  fruit 
which  looked  like  our  green  pine-apples,  but  much 
larger,  and  inside  full  of  solid  substance  like  a  melon, 
and  much  sweeter  both  in  taste  and  smell,  that  grew 
on  long  stalks  like  lilies  or  aloes,  wild  about  the  fields. 
*  *  *  They  also  saw  other  kinds  of  fruit  and  herbs 
diiferent  from  ours  ;  beds  of  cotton  nets  {hamacas), 
bows  and  arrows,  and  other  things.     *     *     * 

"  The  next  day,  which  was  Tuesday,  the  fifth  of 
November,  the  admiral  sent  two  boats  ashore  to 
capture  some  natives  who  might  give  him  a  description 
of  the  country,  and  tell  him  how  far  off  and  in  what 

'  Historie  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  xlvi. 


Ill 


11^ 

i 


'{ 


m 


. 


« 


r 


148 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


direction  Espafiolalay.  Each  boat  brought  back  a  youth. 
The  youths  agreed  in  saying  that  they  were  not  of  that 
island,  but  of  another  called  Borriquen,  and  that  the 
iniiabitants  of  that  island  of  Guadalupe  were  Caribbees 
or  cannibals,  and  had  taken  them  prisoners  from  their 
own  island.  Soon  after  the  boats  returning  to  shore, 
to  take  up  some  Christians  they  had  left  there,  six 
women  were  found  with  them,  who  had  fled  from  the 
Caribbees,  and  came  of  their  own  accord  aboard  the 
ships.  *  *  *  Qpg  Qf  |.|^^^  women  told  them  that 
toward  the  south  there  were  many  islands,  some  in- 
habited, others  not,  which  both  she  and  the  other 
women,  severally  called  Giamachi,  Cairvaco,  Huino, 
Buriari,  Arubeira,  Sixibei  But  the  continent,  which 
they  said  was  very  greai  joth  they  and  the  people 
of  Espanola  called  Zuanta  [Yucatan  ?],  because  in 
former  times  canoes  had  come  from  that  land  to 
barter.  *  *  *  ^\^q  same  women  gave  them  infor- 
mation where  the  island  of  Espanola  lay  ;  for  though 
the  admiral  had  inserted  it  in  his  sea-chart,  yet  for  his 
further  information  he  desired  to  hear  what  the  people 
of  that  country  said  of  it.  *  *  *  Then  the  admiral 
landed  and  went  to  some  houses,  where  he  saw  *  *  * 
a  great  deal  of  cotton,  spun  and  unspun,  looms  to 
weave,  a  great  number  of  men's  skulls  hung  up,  and 
baskets  filled  with  men's  bones."  '  - 

On  his  way  to  the  island  of  Espanola,  Columbus 
discovered  an  island  which  he  called  San  Juan  Baptista, 
but  the  Indians,  Borriquen.  On  the  twelfth  of  No- 
vember he  arrived  off  the  north  coast  of  Espanola. 
On  Thursday,  the  twenty-eighth  of  the  same  month, 
the  discoverer  with  his  fleet  entered  the  harbor  of 
the  Villa  de  la  Navidad,  and  found  the  place  burnt  and 

'  Historie  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  xlvi,  xlvii. 


,1 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


149 


deserted.  The  next  morning  "  the  admiral  landed, 
much  concerned  to  sec  the  houses  and  fort  in  ashes 
and  nothing  left  belonging  to  the  Christians  except 
some  ragged  clothiii;^^  and  similar  thip'^s  as  are  found 
in  a  place  plundered  and  destroyed.  Seeing  no  one 
to  question,  the  admiral  went  up  a. river  that  was  near 
with  some  boats.  *  *  *  Having  found  nothing 
but  some  of  the  clothing  of  the  Christians,  he  returned 
to  Navidad,  where  he  saw  the  bodies  of  eight  Chris- 
tians, and  of  three  other  persons  in  the  fields,  whom 
they  recognized  by  their  clothing,  and  they  seemed  to 
have  been  dead  about  a  month.  While  the  Christians 
were  searching  for  some  other  tokens  or  writings  of 
the  dead,  a  brother  of  the  cacique,  Guacanagari,  came 
with  some  Indians  to  talk  with  thr;  admiral.  These 
could  speak  some  words  of  Spanish,  and  knew  the 
names  of  all  the  Christians  that  had  been  left  there. 
They  related  that  the  latter  soon  began  to  quarrel 
among  themselves,  and  each  to  take  as  much  gold  and 
as  many  women  as  they  could  obtain.  Pedro  Gutierrez 
and  Escovedo  thereupon  killed  a  person  named  Diego, 
and  then  they  and  nine  others  went  away  with  their 
women  to  a  cacique,  whose  name  was  Caunaboa,  who 
was  lord  of  the  mines,  and  he  killed  them  all.  Then 
many  days  afterward  he  came  with  a  great  number  of 
men  to  Navidad,  where  there  was  only  Diego  de 
Arana  with  ten  men,  who  had  remained  with  him  to 
guard  the  fort,  all  the  others  being  dispersed  about  the 
island.  Tlio  cacique,  Caunaboa,  coming  there  at  night, 
set  fire  to  the  houses  where  the  Christians  lived  with 
their  women,  and  the  Christians,  being  frightened,  fled 
to  the  sea,  where  eight  were  drowned,  and  three  died 
ishore,  whose  bodies  they  showed  to  them.  Guacan- 
agari undertook  to  defend  the  Christians,  but  he  and 


l¥. 


I.'E  ' 


iN! 


t  !  ■ 


( 


150 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


M 


li 


ii 


!  f 


his  men  were  wounded  and  were  compelled  to  flee  for 
their  lives."  ' 

About  the  ninth  of  December  Columbus  sailed  east, 
wardly  from  the  site  of  the  Villa  de  la  Navidad,  and 
anchored  before  an  Indian  town,  where  he  determined 
to  plant  a  colony.  "  He  landed  with  all  his  men,  pro- 
visions and  implements,  which  he  had  brought  in  the 
ships  of  the  fleet,  at  a  plain,  near  a  rock,  on  which  a 
fort  could  easily  be  built.  Here  he  erected  a  town, 
and  called  it  Isabela,  in  honor  of  Queen  Isabella.  This 
place  was  deemed  very  suitable,  inasmuch  as  the 
harbor  was  very  large,  though  exposed  to  the  north- 
west, and  had  an  attractive  river  a  bow-shot  from  it, 
from  which  canals  of  water  might  be  cut  to  run  through 
the  middle  of  the  town,  and  beyond  was  an  extensive 
plain,  from  which  the  Indians  said  the  mines  of  Cibao 
were  not  very  distant.  For  these  reasons  the  admiral 
was  eager  to  settle  the  colony.  On  account  of  the 
fatigue  of  the  voyage  and  that  caused  by  his  labor 
here,  he  did  not  have  time  to  write  in  his  journal,  from 
day  to  day,  what  happened,  as  had  been  his  habit. 
He  also  fell  sick,  which  interrupted  his  writing  from 
the  eleventh  of  December  to  the  twelfth  of  March, 
1494.  Meanwhile  he  administered  the  affairs  of  the 
town  according  to  his  ability.  He  intrusted  Alonso  de 
Hojeda  with  fifteen  men  to  discover  the  mines  of 
Ciban,  Afterward,  on  the  second  of  February,  twelve 
ships  of  the  fleet  set  sail  for  Castile,  under  the  com- 
mand of  A.ntonio  de  Torres." " 

In  March  Cclumbus  with  a  body  of  armed  men  ex- 
plored the  country  of  Cibao.  "  It  is  rough  and  stony. ' 
writes  Ferdinand  Columbus,  "full  of  gravel,  grass^y, 
and  watered  by  several  rivers  in  which  gold  is  found. 

'  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  1. 
'  Historie  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  li. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


151 


The   farther  they  went   into   the   country  the   more 
rugged  and  mountainous  they  found  it.     On  the  tops 
of  the  mountains  were  grains  of  gold-sand,  for,  as  the 
admiral  said,  the  great  rains  carry  it  down  from  the 
summits  of  the  mountains  to  the  rivers  in  small  sand. 
*     *     *     The  admiral,'  perceiving  that  he  was  now 
eighteen  leaejues  from  Isabela,  and  the  country  he  had 
left  behind  him  very  craggy,  ordered  a  fort  to  be  built 
in  a  very  pleasant  and  defensible  place,  which  he  called 
the  castle  of  San  Tomas,  to  command  the  country 
about  the  mines,  and  to  be  a  place  of  safety  for  the 
Christians  who  went  there.     The  command  of  this  new 
fort  he  gave  to  Don  Pedro  Margarita,  a   person  of 
some   importance,  with   fifty-six   men,  among  whom 
were  men  of  all  trades  to  erect  the  fort,  which  was 
built   with   clay   and   timber,   which   made   it  strong 
enough  to  resist  the  attack  of  any  number  of  Indians 
that  might  come  against  it.     *     *     *     Qn  Sunday, 
the  twenty-ninth  of  March,  Columbus  arrived  at  Isa- 
bela, where   melons  were   already  grown  fit  to  eat, 
although  it  was  not  more  than  two  months  after  the 
seed'had  been  put  into  the  ground.     Cucumbers  came 
up  in  twenty  days,  and  a  wild  vine  of  that  country, 
having  been  pruned,  had  produced  grapes  which  were 
good  and  large.     The  next  day,  being  the  thirtieth  of 
March,  a  farmer  gathered  ears  of  wheat,  the  seed  of 
which   he   had   sown   at  the   latter  end  of  January. 
There  were  also  pease,  but  much  larger  than  those 
they   sowed.     All   they   sowed   came   up   above   the 
ground  in  three  days,  and  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  they 
were  eating  them.     The   stones  of  fruit   set   in   the 
ground  sprouted  in  seven  days,  and  vine  branches 
shot  out  in  the  same  time,  and  in  twenty-five  days 
thereafter  they  gathered  green  grapes.    *     *     * 


M 


y^  it 


l$$ 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


(  V. 


"  The  admiral,  having  determined  to  go  to  discover 
the  continent,  aj  ^lointed  a  council  to  govern  the  island 
in  his  absence.  The  persons  composing  it  were  Don 
Dieo-o  Colon,  the  admiral's  brother,  with  the  title  of 
president ;  F.  Boyl  [Friar  Buil]  and  Pedro  Fernandez 
Corouel,  regents  ;  Alonzo  Sanchez  de  Carvajal,  rector 
of  Bacca,  and  Juan  de  Luxan,  gentlemen  of  their 
catholic  majesties.  *  *  *  On  Tuesday,  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  April,  the  wind  being  favorable,  Columbus 
arrived  at  Cabo  de  San  Nicolas,  and  thence  crossed 
over  to  the  island  of  Cuba,  running  along  the  south 
coast  of  it,  and  having  sailed  a  league  beyond  Cabo 
Fuerte,  he  pu<-  into  a  large  bay  which  he  called  Puerto 
Grande.     *     *     * 

"  On  Saturday,  the  third  of  May,  the  admiral  re- 
solved to  sail  from  Cuba  over  to  Jamaica,  that  he  might 
not  leave  it  behind  without  knowing  whether  the  re- 
port of  the  abundance  of  gold  there  were  true.  The 
wind  being  favorable,  he  discovered  it  on  Sunday, 
when  he  was  less  than  half  the  distance  to  it.  On 
Monday  he  came  to  anchor,  and  thought  it  was  the  most 
attractive  of  all  the  islands  which  he  had  seen  in  the 
Indies.  So  many  people,  in  large  and  small  canoes, 
came  aboard  his  vesrels  that  it  was  quite  astonishing. 
The  next  day  he  ran  along  the  coast  to  search  for 
harbors.  When  the  boats  went  to  examine  the 
havens,  there  came  out  so  many  canoes  and  armed 
men  to  defend  the  country,  that  the  men  in  the 
boats  were  forced  to  return  to  the  ships,  not  through 
fear,  but  to  avoid  making  enemies  of  them.  *  *  * 
On  Tuesday,  the  thirteenth  of  May,  Columbus  de- 
termined to  stand  over  again  for  Cuba  to  coast 
along  it,  intending  not  to  return  until  he  had  sailed 
five  or  six  hundred  leagues,  and  was  satisfied  whether 


s 


V 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


153 


■n 


it  were  ?,  continent  or  an  island.  *  *  *  Qj^ 
Friday,  the  thirteenth  of  June,  the  admiral  perceiving 
that  the  coast  of  Cuba  ran  far  to  the  west,  and  that 
it  was  a  matter  of  the  greatest  difficulty  to  sail  that 
way  on  account  of  the  infinite  number  of  islands  and 
sand-bars  that  were  on  all  sides  of  them,  and  he  also 
beginning  to  K\  in  want  of  provisions,  for  which  reason 
he  could  not  continue  his  voyage  as  he  had  intended, 
he  determined  to  return  to  the  town  he  had  begun  to 
build  in  Espanola.  To  supply  himself  with  wood  and 
water,  he  anchored  at  the  island  Evangelista,  which  is 
thirty  leagues  in  circuit,  and  seven  hundred  from  Do- 
minica." ' 

While  Columbus  was  exploring  the  coast  of  Cuba, 
near  the  island  of  Evangelista,  on  the  twelfth  of  June, 
it  is  said  that  he,  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  indis- 
putable evidence  that  he  had  reached  the  dominions  of 
the  Grand  Khan,  sent  Fernando  Perez  de  Luna,  his 
notary,  with  four  attesting  witnesses,  to  the  vesr^h, 
and  had  each  person  on  board  to  make  a  declaration 
under  oath  that  he  was  convinced  that  the  land  he  saw 
was  a  part  of  the  continent  of  Asia,  and  that  he  be- 
lieved any  one  could  go  from  it  by  land  to  Spain.'  The 
notary,  when  taking  the  depositions,  it  is  said,  informed 
each  person  giving  this  testimony,  that  should  he  for 
any  malicious  purpose  afterward  assert  a  different 
opinion,  he  would,  if  an  officer,  be  made  to  pay  a 
penalty  of  ten  thousand  maravedis  for  such  an  offence, 
and  if  a  person  of  lower  rank,  he  would  receive  a 
hundred  lashts  and  have  his  tongue  cut  out.^    Strange 

'  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  liii-lviii. 

*  "  Que  esta  tierra  de  Cuba  ftiesa  la  tierra  finite  al  comienzo  de  las  Indyis  y 
fin  d  quien  en  estas partes  quisiere  vent    de  Espafia por  tierra." 

•informacion  del  escribano  publico.  Fernando  Perez  de  Luna.  Coleccion 
de  los  viages  y  descubrimientos  de  los  £spag!\oles.     torn.  ii.    pp.  143,  149. 


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154 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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as  it  seems,  it  was  Columbus's  belief  that  this  watery 
expanse  was  really  the  gulf  of  the  Ganges.* 

Departing  from  the  island  of  Evangeliota,  Columbus 
returned  along  the  coast  of  Cuba  to  Cabo  de  Santa 
Cruz,  from  which  he  steered  to  the  island  of  Jamaica. 
After  leaving  it,  he  discovered  the  two  islands  lying 
off  the  east  coast  of  Espanola,  called  respectively  by 
the  Indians  Adamarai  and  Mona.  On  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  September,  1494,  he  returned  to  Isabela. 

The  people  of  the  island  of  Espanola  having 
acquired  some  knowledge  of  the  Spanish  language, 
were  able  at  this  time  to  give  Columbus  considerable 
information  respecting  their  religion.  From  his  con- 
versations with  them  he  was  enabled  to  write  the 
following  account  of  their  pec'iHar  image-worship  : 
"  I  could  discover  neither  idolatry  nor  any  sect  among 
them,  though  each  one  of  their  kings,  who  are  very 
many,  as  well  in  Espanola  as  on  all  the  other  islands 
and  continent,  has  a  hor  e  apart  from  the  town,  in 
which  there  is  nothing  but  some  carved,  wooden 
images  that  are  called  cemies.  There  is  nothing 
done  in  these  houses  but  what  is  for  the  service  of  the 
cemies,  to  which  they  r^^pair  to  perform  certain  cere- 
monies, and  pray  there,  as  we  do  in  our  churches. 
In  these  houses  they  have  a  handsome,  round  table, 
made  like  a  dish,  on  which  is  some  powder,  which 
they  lay  on  the  heads  of  the  cemies  with  a  certain 
ceremony.  Then  through  a  cane,  that  has  two 
branches,  held   to   their   own    nostrils   they  snuff  up 

'  In  August,  149S,  Peter  Martyr,  writing  to  Cardinal  Bernardino,  says : 
"  Columbus  asserts  that  this  region  is  the  continent  of  the  Ganges  of  India, — 
Indiae  Gangetidis  continentem  earn  essi  plagam  contendit  Colonus." — Opvs, 
epistqiaru  Petri  Martyris  Anglerii  Mediolanesis  Protonolarij  Aplici  atque  a 
cosihjs  rem  Indicaru  :  nuc  pmu  et  natu  y  mediocri  cura  excursum  :  quod  q  de 
preterstili  venustate,  nosfroru  quoque  teporum  histori  loco  esse  poterit.  Copluti 
Anno  dni  MDXXX. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


155 


this  powder.  The  words  they  use  none  of  our  people 
understand.  The  powder  intoxicates  them,  and  they 
act  as  if  they  ware  drunk.  They  also  give  the  image 
a  name,  and  I  believe  it  is  that  of  their  father  or 
grandfather,  or  both  ;  for  they  have  more  than  one, 
and  some  more  than  ten,  all  in  memory  of  their  fore- 
fathers, as  I  have  already  said.  I  have  heard  them 
praise  one  more  than  another,  and  have  observed 
them  to  have  more  devotion,  and  show  more  respect 
to  one  than  anotner,  as  we  do  in  processions  in  time 
of  want ;  and  the  people  and  the  caciques  boast 
among  themselves  of  having  the  best  cemies.  When 
they  go  to  these  cemies  they  shun  the  Christians,  and 
will  not  permit  them  to  enter  these  houses.  If  they 
suspect  that  they  will  come,  they  take  their  csmies 
and  hide  them  in  the  woods  for  fear  that  they  should 
be  deprived  of  them.  Wh:.i  is  most  ridiculous,  they 
have  the  habit  of  stealing  one  another's  cemies.  It 
happened  once  that  the  Christians  suddenly  rushed 
into  a  house  with  them,  and  the  cemi  cried  out,  speak- 
ing in  their  language,  which  showed  that  it  was  arti- 
ficially made.  The  cem.i  being  hollow,  they  had  at- 
tached a  tube  to  it,  which  tube  extended  to  a  dark 
corner  of  the  house,  where  a  man  was  concealed  with 
boughs  and  leaves  who  had  spoken  through  the  tube 
the  words  which  the  cacique  had  commanded  him. 
The  Spaniards,  suspecting  something  of  the  kind, 
kicked  down  the  cemi,  and  discovered  that  which  has 
been  related.  The  cacique  seeing  that  his  deception 
was  known  to  the  Spaniards,  earnestly  begged  them 
not  to  speak  of  it  to  his  subjects  or  to  the  other 
Indians,  because  he  made  them  obedient  by  this  arti- 
fice. *  *  *  Three  large  stones  are  also  in  the 
possession  of  almost  all  the  caciques,  which  are  highly 


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156 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


venerated  by  them  and  their  people.  The  one  they  say 
makes  the  corn  and  the  grain  to  grow,  the  second 
helps  women  in  travail,  and  the  third  procures  rain  or 
fair  weather,  whenever  they  desire  to  be  benefited  in 
any  one  of  these  ways.  I  sent  your  highnesses  three 
of  these  stones  by  Antonio  de  Torres,  and  have  three 
more  to  bring  with  me. 

"  When  these  Indians  die,  they  have  several  ways 
of  performing  their  obse<iuies.  The  manner  in  which 
they  bury  their  caciques  is  as  follows  :  They  open  his 
body  and  dry  it  at  a  fire  in  order  to  preserve  it.  Of 
other  persons  they  only  take  the  head.  They  bury  some 
in  caves  or  caverns,  and  place  gourds  of  water  and 
bread  at  their  heads.  Others  they  burn  in  the  house 
where  they  die,  and  they  do  not  permit  them  to 
die  naturally,  but  strangle  them  1  .  ir  last  gasp. 
This  is  done  to  the  caciques.  Others  are  turned  out 
of  the  house,  and  are  put  in  a  hamac,  which  is  tneir 
bed,  with  bread  giid  water  at  their  heads,  and  they  are 
never  visited  again.  Some  who  become  dangerously 
ill  are  carried  to  the  cacique,  who  tells  whether  they 
are  to  be  strangled  or  not,  and  what  he  commands  is 
done.  I  have  taken  pains  to  learn  what  they  believe, 
and  whether  they  know  what  becomes  of  them  after 
they  are  dead.  This  I  inquired  of  Caunaboa,  who  was 
the  principal  king  of  Espanola,  an  aged  man,  intelli- 
gent and  of  much  discernment.  He  and  the  rest 
answered  that  they  go  to  a  certain  valley,  which  every 
great  cacique  supposes  to  be  his  country,  where,  they 
affirm,  they  find  their  pari:nts  and  all  their  ancestors  ; 
that  they  eat,  have  women,  and  enjoy  themselves  in 
pleasures  and  pastimes. 

The  admiral,  having  brought  the  island  into  a 
peaceable  condition,  and  built  the  town  of  J,;^beku  Lc 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


157 


sides  three  forts  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  deter- 
mined to  return  to  Spain.  *  *  *  |^g  went  on 
board,  on  Thursday,  the  tenth  of  March,  1496,  with  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  Spaniards  and  thirty  Indians, 
and  sailed  from  Isabela,  at  daybreak,  and  steered  along 
the  coast  with  two  caravels,  one  called  Santa  Cruz,  the 
other  La  Nina,  the  same  in  which  he  went  to  discover 
the  island  of  Cuba.  *  *  *  Having  supplied  him- 
self with  bread,  wood,  and  water,  he  set  sail  on 
Wednesday,  the  twentieth  of  April,  from  the  island  of 
Guadalupe,  with  the  wind  very  scant,  keeping  near 
the  latitude  of  twenty-two  degrees,  for  at  that  time 
they  had  not  found  out  the  way  of  running  away  north 
to  catch  the  southwest  winds."  ' 

After  sailing  a  month  in  the  direction  of  Spain, 
"  although  there  were  eight  or  nine  pilots  on  board  the 
two  vessels,  yet  none  of  them  knew  where  they  were  ; 
but  the  admiral  was  confident  that  they  were  only  a 
little  west  of  the  Azores." 

Columbus,  speaking  of  the  movements  of  his  com- 
passes at  this  time,  observes :  "  This  morning  the 
Dutch  compasses  varied,  as  they  formerly  did,  a  point; 
and  those  of  Geneva,  which  previously  agreed  with 
them,  varied  only  a  little,  but  after  sailing  east  varied 
more,  which  is  a  sign  that  we  are  one  hundred  leagues 
or  more  west  of  the  Azores,  fcr  when  we  were  just  one 
hundred  there  were  only  a  few  weeds  scattered  in  the 
sea,  and  the  Dutch  needles  varied  a  point,  those  of 
Geneva  cutting  the  north  point,  and  when  we  are  a 
little   farther  east-northeast  they   will   alter  again."' 

'  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap,  Iviii-lxiv. 

'Columbus  writing  from  EspnBola  in  October,  1498,  says:  "Each  time 
that  I  sail  from  Spain  to  Iniiia,  as  soon  as  I  have  proceeded  about  a  hundred 
nautical  miles  to  the  west  of  the  Azores,  I  perceive  an  extraordinary  alteration 
in  the  movement  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  in  the  temperature  of  the  air,  and  in 
the  character  of  the  sea.     I  have  observed  these  alterations  with  especial  care, 


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158 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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These  noticeable  differences  in  the  variations  of  the 
needles,  Ferdinand  Columbus  says,  the  admiral  assigned 
to  "  the  different  kinds  of  loadstones  used  in  making 
them."  *  *  *  «  In  this  way,"  he  remarks,  "they 
continued  their  voyage,  though  all  the  pilots  went  like 
blind  men."  Columbus,  when  near  Spain,  confidently 
asserted  that  they  would  be  in  sight  of  the  coast  on  the 
following  morning,  which  proved  to  be  true,  "for  which 
reason  he  was  looked  upon  by  the  seamen  as  very  ex- 
pert and  almost  prophetic  ii:  sea  affairs." '     On  Satur- 

and  I  notice  that  the  mariner's  compass,  whose  declination  had  hitherto  been 
northeast,  was  now  changed  to  northwest ;  and  when  I  had  crossed  this  line,  as 
if  in  passing  the  brow  of  a  hill,  I  found  the  ocean  covered  with  such  a  mass  of 
sea-weed,  similar  to  small  bi.tiches  of  pir._  covered  with  pistachio  nuts,  that  we 
were  apprehensive  that  for  v/ani  c  fa  sufficiency  of  water  our  ships  would  run  upon 
a  shoal.  Before  we  reached  the  line  of  which  I  speak,  there  was  no  trace  of  any 
such  sea-weed.  On  the  boundary  line,  one  h'-ndr^d  miles  west  of  the  Azores, 
the  ocean  is  found  still  and  calm,  being  scarcely  ever  moved  by  a  breeze.  On 
my  passage  from  the  Canary  Islands  to  the  parallel  of  Sierra  Leone,  we  had 
to  endure  a  frightful  degree  of  heat,  but  as  soon  as  we  had  crossed  the  above- 
mentioned  line,  the  climate  changed,  the  air  became  temperate,  and  the  fresh- 
ness increased  the  farther  we  proceeded." 

"  It  is  evident  that  the  extract  from  the  third  voyage  is  but  an  amplification 
of  his  first  account,  and  expresses  his  conviction  that  west  of  the  Azores,  where 
the  declination  was  a  little  easterly,  it  changed  to  the  westward,  being  nearly 
zero  at  Corvo,  and  gradually  increasing  to  one  point  or  ii°  W. ,  at  a  distance  of 
300  nautical  miles  W.  of  the  longitude  of  Corvo.  The  position  of  Rosario  on 
the  S.E.  part  of  the  island  of  Corvo  is,  according  to  the  Caria  Esf erica  de  las 
Islas  Azores,  Madrid,  1855,  in  latitude  39°  41'  and  longitude  24°  53'  west  of 
San  Fernando,  or  in  31°  07'  west  of  Greenwich  (according  to  the  Conn,  des 
Temps),  100  leagues  or  300  nautical  miles  west  of  thi.s  longitude  would  corre- 
spond (in  latitude  28°)  to  5°  4fJ ,  and  would  bring  the  Columbus  line  in  longitude 
36°  47'  W." — An  inquiry  into  he  variation  of  the  compass  off  the  Bahama 
I.  'inds  at  the  land  fall  of  Columbus  in  I4()2.     By  Charles  A.  Schott.     p.  51. 

'  Histoire  del  S.  D.  Fernando  C  ilombo.     cap.  Ixiv. 

"The  nece-»ity  for  attaching  a  special  au'l  well-informed  astronomer  to 
every  great  expedition  was  so  generally  felt  that  Queen  Isabella  wrote  to  Colum- 
bus on  the  5th  of  September,  1493,  '  that  althouph  he  had  shown  in  his  under- 
takings that  he  knew  more  than  any  other  living  .>»;ing  {que  ninguno  de  los  naci- 
dos),  she  counselled  him,  nevertheless,  to  take  with  him  Fray  Antonio  da 
Marchena,  as  beiag  a  learned  and  skillful  astronomer.'  Columbus  writes  in  the 
narrative  of  his  fourth  voyage  that  'there  was  only  one  infallible  method  of 
taking  a  ship's  reckoning,  viz.,  that  employed  by  astronomers.  He  who  under- 
stands it  may  rest  satisfied ;  ft^   that  which  it  yields  is  like  onto  a  prophetic 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


159 


day,  the  eleventh  of  June,  1496,  the  caravels  arrived 
in  the  port  of  Cadiz. 

"  The  admiral,"  as  soon  as  he  had  landed,  "began  to 
prepare  for  his  journey  to  Burgos,  where  he  was  favor- 
ably received  by  their  catholic  majcoties,  who  were 
there  celebrating  the  nuptials  of  Prince  Juan,  their  son, 
who  married  Margarita  of  Austria." 

While  Columbus  was  in  Espanola,  King  Ferdinand 
and  Queen  Isabella  abrogated  in  part  the  concessions 
granted  him,  and  issued  letters-patent  on  the  tenth  of 
April,  1495,  permitting  any  of  their  subjects  to  make 
voyages  of  discovery  to  the  Indies.'  Commissioned  by 
their  highnesses,  Amerigo  Vespucci'  went  with  a  fleet 
of  four  vessels,  in  1497,  to  make  discoveries.     The  ac- 

vision  {vision  prpfeticd).  Our  ignorant  pilots,  when  they  bjive  ^"'t  sight  of  land 
for  several  days  know  not  where  they  are.  They  would  not  be  able  »y  find  the 
countries  again  which  I  have  discovered.  To  navigate  a  ship  requires  the  com- 
pass {compas  y  arte)  and  the  knowledge  cv  art  of  the  astronomer.'  " — Humboldt : 
Cosmos.     Otte's  trans,     vol.  ii.    pp.  671-673. 

'  "  That  any  individual  among  our  sul^jects  and  natives,  that  desires,  may 
go  hereafter  (according  to  our  pleasure  and  will)  to  discover  islands  and  the 
mainland  in  the  said  part  of  the  aforesaid  Indies,  either  to  those  already  discov- 
ered or  to  any  other,  and  to  traffic  in  them,  provided  it  be  not  in  the  aforesaid 
island  of  Espailola.  He  may  buy  from  the  Christians  there  or  from  those  who 
may  hereafter  be  there  any  article  and  merchandise,  provided  it  be  not  gold  ; 
and  this  he  may  and  shall  do  with  any  suitable  .,hip,  provided  that  at  the  time 
he  leaves  our  kingdom  he  depart  from  the  city  of  Cadiz,  and  there  present  him- 
self before  our  officers.  And  they  must  carry  thence  in  each  of  such  vessels  one 
or  two  persons  named  by  our  ofTicers.  ♦  *  *  And  it  is  our  will  and  pleasure 
that  of  all  which  the  said  persons  shall  find  in  the  aforesaid  islands  and  main- 
land they  shall  have  for  themselves  nine  parts,  and  the  tenth  ahall  be  our  part." 
—  Vide  Memorials  of  Colunbus  ;  or  a  collection  of  authentic  documents  of  that 
celebrated  navigator.     London,  1823.     pp.  88-95. 

'  Amerigo  Vespucci,  ttie  third  son  of  Anastasio  Vespucci  and  Elizahetta 
Mina,  was  born  in  Florencs,  March  9,  T.+51.  In  his  boyhood  he  attended  the 
school  taught  by  his  uncle,  Giorgio  Antonio  Vespucci,  a  monk  of  the  o;der  of 
St.  Mark.  About  the  year  1493  Vespucci  went  to  Seville,  and  engaged  in  the 
business  of  furnishing;  and  equipping  vessels  for  voyages  of  discovery.  lie  died 
in  Seville,  February  :22, 1512. —  Vide  The  life  and  voyages  of  Americus  Vepucius. 
By  C.  Edwards  Lesler  and  Andrew  Foster.  New  York,  1846.  Amerigo  Ves- 
pucci. Son  caractdri;,  ses  ecrits  (meme  les  moins  autheni  iques),  sa  vie,  et  ses 
navigations,  par  F.  A.  de  Varnhagen.     Lima,  1865. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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count  of  the  voyage  is  contained  in  a  letter  written  by 
him,  in  Lisbon,  on  the  fourth  of  September,  i5o4.  The 
publication  of  it  made  him  famous  as  the  discoverer  of 
the  continent  of  America.  Singular  as  it  is  true,  the 
palpable  discrepancies  found  in  the  subsequent  versions 
of  Vespucci's  letter  have  'ed  many  scholars  to  discredit 
the  statements  of  the  intelligent  and  enterprising  Ital- 
ian.'   Vespucci  thus  writes  respecting  his  first  voyage  : 

"The  king,  Don  Ferdinand  of  Castile,  having 
ordered  four  ships  to  discover  new  lands  toward  the 
west,  I  was  selected  by  his  highness  to  go  in  the  fleet 
to  aid  in  the  discoveries.'  We  departed  from  the  port 
of  Cadiz  on  the  tenth  day  of  May,  1497,  and  took  our 
course  across  the  great  gulf  of  the  ocean -sea.^  We 
spent  eighteen  months  on  the  voyage,  and  discovered 
much  main-land  and  an  endless  number  of  islands, 
which  were  in  great  part  inhabited.  As  these  are  not 
spoken  of  by  ancient  writers,  I  think  that  they  had  no 
knowledge  of  them.     *     *     * 

"  We  reached  a  land  which  we  judged  to  be  firm 
land,  distant  from  the  Canary  Islands  about  a  thousand 
leagues  more  to  the  west,  within  the  torrid  zone, 
because  we  found  the  north  pole  at  an  ehvation  of 
sixteen  degrees  above  the  horizon,*  and  that  we  were 
more  than  seventy- five  degrees  west  of  the  Canary 
Islands    as  our  instruments  showed.*     We  anchored 

'  yidg  Dibliotheca  Americana  Vetustissima. — A  description  of  works 
relating  to  America  published  between  the  years  1492  and  1551.  [By  Henry 
Harrisse.]     New  York,  1866.     pp.  55-68. 

'  "  Electa  per  sua  alteza  che  io  ftissi  in  essa  Jlocta  per  adiutare  adiscoprire" 

*  "  Partimo  del  porta  di  Calls  adi  10  maggio,  1497." 

*  Likely  the  double  altitude,  and  therefore  eight  degrees  of  north  latitude,  or 
near  the  mouths  of  the  Orinoco  River. 

'  "  Una  terra,  cV  la  giudica'mo  essere  terra  ferma  ;  la  quale  dista  dalle 
isole  d'  Canaria  piu  alio  occidente  a  circha  di  mille  leghe  fuora  dello  habitato  d' 
rento  della  torrida  zana  :  perche  trouva'mo  ^l polo  del  septentrione  al  zare  fuora 
del  suo  orizante  16,  gradi,  &'  piu  occide'tale  che  le  isole  di  Canaria,  seed  do  che 
mostrouano  e  nastri  instrumenti  75.  gradi." 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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our  ships  a  league  and  a  naif  from  the  coast.  We  got 
out  our  boats,  and,  having  manned  and  armjd  them, 
we  went  on  land. 

"  Before  we  went  ashore  we  were  greatly  delighted 
in  seeing  many  people  wandering  a'  ng  the  beach. 
We  saw  thrt  they  were  naked  and  that  they  seemed 
to  be  frightened  when  they  beheld  us,  likely,  as  I  sup- 
posed, by  seeing  us  clothed,  and  of  a  different  stature 
from  their  own.  They  retired  to  a  moimtain,  and  we 
could  not  entice  them  to  hold  any  ir.tercourse  \\\/\  us, 
notwithstanding  we  endeavored  to  induce  them  by 
signs  of  peace  and  friendship.     *     *     * 

"  We  sailed  to  the  northwest'  in  which  direction  Lie 
coast  extended,  always  in  sight  of  land,  seeing  con- 
tinually, during  the  voyage,  people  on  the  shore.  After 
sailing  two  days,  we  found  a  secure  place  for  the  ships, 
and  anchored  half  a  league  from  the  land.  *  *  *  The 
natives  were  somewhat  timid,  and  it  was  a  long  time 
before  we  were  able  to  dispel  their  fear  and  induce 
them  to  come  and  talk  to  us.  *  *  *  Giving  them  such 
things  as  looking-glasses,  bells,  beads,  and  other  trifler;, 
we  enticed  a  number  of  them  to  approach  and  enter 
into  friendly  relations  with  us.     *     *     * 

/' These  people  go  cntirel)  naked  and  wear  not  a 
particle  of  clothing.  They  are  of  a  me  iium  size  and 
very  well  proportioned.  Their  skin  is  re  Idish  like  the 
color  of  a  lion's  skin.  *  *  *  They  do  not  allow  any 
hair  to  grow  on  their  eyelids  and  eyebrows,  nor  on 
any  part  of  their  bodies  ;  only  on  their  heads,  for  they 
think  it  very  unbecoming.  The  men  and  women  are 
exceedingly  quick  in  their  movements,  and  are  uncon- 

"  '  Nauiga' mo  per  el  maestrale,  che  cost  sicotreua  la  costa  sempre  a  uista  di 


terra. 


In  Italy  the  different  points  of  the  compass  were  designated  by  the  winds  : 
North,  tramontana;  northeast,  ^^«  y  east,  levante ;  southeast,  «>wft>  y  south, 
ostro;  southwest,  libeccio  ;  yrest,  poncnh  y  northwest,  maeslro  or  maestrale. 


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WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MSSO 

(716)  •72-4503 


1 62 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


■    V 


strained  in  their  deportment.  Tliey  walk  and  run 
rapidly.  The  women  do  not  think  it  a  difficult  thing 
to  run  a  league  or  two.  *  *  *  These  people  are  excel- 
lent swimmers.  The  women  surpass  the  men,  for  we 
have  observed  them  many  times  swimming  unaided, 
fully  two  leagues  out  from  land. 

"  The  weapons  of  these  people  are  bows  and 
arrows.  These  are  curiously  made.  They  have  no 
iron  or  any  other  hard  metal  on  them.  They  use 
instead  the  teeth  of  animals  or  fish.  *  *  *  They 
are  expert  bowmen,  and  hit  with  their  arrows  what- 
ever they  shoot  at.  The  women  in  some  parts  of  the 
country  handle  the  bow  with  considerable  skill.  Their 
other  weapons  are  lances  and  clubs  with  elaborately 
carved  heads.  When  they  go  to  make  war  their  wives 
accompany  them,  not  to  fight,  but  to  carry  provision 
on  their  backs.  Sometimes  a  woman  will  convey  a 
burden  in  this  manner  thirty  or  forty  leagues,  which 
the  strongest  men  there  cannot  do  as  we  have  frequent- 
ly observed.     *     *     * 

•'  These  people,  although  they  appear  ignorant  as 
talkers,  are  very  sagacious  and  crafty  in  any  matter  in 
which  they  are  interested.  They  do  not  talk  much, 
and  when  they  do,  it  is  in  a  low  tone.  *  *  *  Their 
languages  difier  so  much  that  we  found  people  living 
within  the  space  of  a  hundred  leagues  who  could  not 
understand  one  another's  speech.  *  *  *  They 
do  not  partake  of  food  at  appointed  times  nor  in 
such  quantities  to  satisfy  them  during  equal  intervals. 
Whenever  their  appetites  demand  food,  whether  in 
the  middle  of  the  night  or  day,  it  does  not  matter  to 
theM,  they  appease  their  hunger.  "'  '■'•  *  They 
take  their  food  from  earthen  basins  made  by  them,  or 
from  gourds  cut  in  half. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


163 


"  They  sleep  in  certain  nets  made  of  cotton,  very 
large,  suspended  in  the  air.  *  *  *  These  people 
are  clean  and  neat  in  their  persons,  for  they  are  con- 
tinually bathing.  *  *  *  They  live  together  in 
common,  and  make  their  houses  like  cottages,  which 
are  very  strongly  built  with  the  largest  trees  and  cov- 
ered with  palm  leaves.  *  *  *  \Yq  found  one 
which  contained  six  hundred  persons,  and  we  saw  the 
occupants  of  thirteen  houses,  who  must  have  numben^cl 
four  thousand  souls.  New  sites  for  these  houses  arc 
selected  every  seven  or  eight  years.  When  we  asked 
why  they  changed  the  location  of  their  dwellings,  they 
said  it  was  because  the  intense  heat  of  the  sun  caused 
painful  diseases  to  spread  among  them  when  the 
ground  about  their  houses  became  permeated  and  foul 
with  filth  ;  which  explanation  seemed  quite  reasonable 
to  us. 

"  The  riches  of  these  peo  ^le  are  the  feathers  of  birdr. 
of  different  colors,  ornaments  made  of  fish  bones,  and 
white  and  green  stones,  with  which  they  adorn  their 
cheeks,  lips,  and  ears.  *  *  *  Some  of  these  people, 
when  they  inter  their  dead,  place  water  and  food  at  the 
head  of  the  corpse.  *  *  *  In  some  parts  of  the 
country  there  is  a  very  inhuman  custom  of  disposing 
of  a  person  about  to  die.  His  relatives  carry  him  into 
a  great  wood,  and,  fastening  one  of  their  sleeping  nets 
to  two  trees,  put  him  in  it.  Having  swung  him  in  it 
during  the  day,  they,  at  the  approach  of  night,  depart 
to  their  homes,  leaving  with  him  water  and  food  suf- 
ficient for  his  wants  during  the  succeeding  five  or  six 
days.  Should  the  ill  man  partake  of  the  provisions 
and  recover  sufficient  strength  to  enable  him  to  make 
his  way  back  to  the  village,  his  relatives  honor  his  re- 
turn with  ceremony.     * 


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164 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


"  For  their  infirmities  they  have  various  kinds  of 
medicine  very  different  from  those  we  use.  *  *  * 
I  often  observed  that  when  a  person  was  stricken 
with  fever  and  grew  worse,  that  they  bathed  him  with 
much  cold  water  from  head  to  foot,  and  then  built  a 
great  fire  around  him,  and  made  him  walk  about  the 
inclosed  space  for  an  hour  or  two  until  he  became 
quite  fatigued,  when  they  allowed  him  to  sleep.  Many 
were  cured  by  this  treatment.  *  *  *  Blood-letting 
is  an  art  known  to  them.  They  do  not  take  blood  from 
the  arm  except  in  the  armpit.  They  generally  take 
it  from  the  loins  or  the  calf  of  the  leg.  '"  *  *  They 
have  no  grain  seed  nor  corn,  but  use  instead  the  root 
of  a  tree,  from  which  they  make  flour,  which  is  very 
good,  and  which  they  call  luca,  and  another  which  they 
call  CdsaOi,  and  another  which  they  call  Ignami.  Very 
little  meat   is   eaten   by   them  except    human    flesh. 

*  *  *  They  devour  with  fierce  avidity  their  ene- 
mies, whom  they  kill  or  capture,  whether  men  or 
women.     They   thought  it  very  strange    when    they 

learned  that  we  did  not  eat  the  flesh  of  our  enemies. 

*  *     * 


"  We  landed  in  a  port '  where  we  found  a  village 
built  above  the  water  like  Venice.  About  forty-five 
bell-shaped  houses  were  erected  here  upon  very  large 
piles,  and  connected  one  with  the  other  by  draw-bridges. 
*  *  *  Vi^hen  we  were  descried  by  the  people  they 
were  seemingly  terrified,  and  to  protect  themselves 
they  immediately  drew  their  bridges  and  shut  them- 
selves up  in  their  houses.  While  we  were  observing 
them  and  wondering  at  their  actions,  we  beheld  about 
twenty-two  canoes  {canoe)  approaching  us   from  the 

'  Evidently  the  Gulf  of  Coquibacoa,  called  shortly  afterward  by  the 
Spaniards  the  Gulf  of  Venezuela — the  Gulf  of  Little  Venice. —  Vide  Juan  de  la 
Cosa's  map  in  the  cover-pocket. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


165 


direction  of  the  sea.  These  canoes  are  boats  '«vhich 
they  use,  and  are  made  from  a  single  tree.  The  people 
in  them  rowed  toward  our  boats,  no  little  astonished 
at  our  forms  and  clothing.  As  they  kept  at  some 
distance  from  us,  we  made  signs  to  induce  them  to 
come  nearer.  Failing  to  assure  them  of  our  peaceful 
intentions,  and  seeing  that  they  would  not  approach  any 
nearer,  we  rowed  toward  them.  But  they  did  not 
remain  where  they  were,  but  rowed  to  the  land,  where, 
by  signs,  they  intimated  that  we  should  wait  for  a  short 
time  until  they  returned. 

"  They  hastened  away  to  a  mountain,  but  did  not 
stay  there  any  length  of  time.  Returning  they  brought 
with  them  sixteen  young  girls,  and,  entering  their 
canoes,  rowed  to  us,  and  placed  four  girls  in  each  of 
our  boats.  We  were  much  surprised  at  this.  *  *  * 
They  then  kept  their  canoes  alongside  of  our  boats, 
and  we  were  led  to  believe  that  these  people  were  thus 
manifesting  their  friendship.  Not  suspecting  any  thing 
different,  we  cbserved  a  great  number  of  people  swim- 
ming toward  us  from  the  houses.  Then  some  old 
women  appeared  at  the  doors  of  the  houses  shrieking 
and  pulling  their  hair  as  if  in  great  distress.  Suspect- 
ing some  treachery,  we  took  up  our  arms.  All  at  once 
the  girls  in  our  boats  plunged  into  the  sea,  and  the 
people  in  the  canoes  rowed  away,  shooting  their  arrows 
at  us.  Those  who  swam  to  us  carried  lances  with 
them  concealed  under  the  water.  Discovering  their 
treachery,  we  not  only  defended  ourselves,  but  vigor- 
ously attacked  them.  We  upscl.  in  our  boats  many  of 
their  canoes  and  killed  many  people.  In  a  short  time 
those  who  were  not  hurt  left  their  canoes  and  swam  to 
the  shore.  They  had  about  fifteen  or  twenty  killed 
and  wounded,  and  we  five  slightly  w^ounded. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


We  took  two  girls  and  two  men  prisoners.  When  we 
entered  their  houses  we  found  only  two  old  women  and 
a  sick  man.  We  took  from  the  houses  many  things  of 
little  value,  but  did  not  burn  the  houses  from  humane 
motives.     *     *     * 

**  This  country  is  thickly  inhabited  and  contains 
a  great  many  rivers.  The  animals  in  it  are  quite 
different  from  those  in  our  country,  except  the  lions, 
panthers,  stags,  hogs,  goats,  and  deer,  and  some 
of  these  are  somewhat  different  from  ours  in  form. 
*  *  *  But  how  can  I  describe  the  birds  here,  which 
are  so  many  and  of  so  many  kinds,  and  the  color  of 
their  feathers  so  different,  that  the  sight  of  them 
amazes  one. 

"  The  country  is  very  attractive  and  fruitful,  and 
covered  with  very  great  woods  and  forests,  in  which 
the  trees  are  always  green,  for  they  never  lose  their 
foliage.  There  are  unnumbered  fruits  very  different 
from  those  in  our  country.  This  land  lies  within  the 
limits  of  the  torrid  zone,  below  the  line  describing  the 
tropic  of  Cancer,  where  the  pole  is  elevated  twenty- 
three  degrees  above  the  horizon,  at  the  end  of  the 
second  climate.'  *  *  *  j^  ^.j^jg  country  we  made 
a  baptismal  font,  and  baptized  many  of  the  people,  who 
called  us  caribi,  meaning  men  of  great  wisdom. 

"  The  country  is  called  Lariab  by  the  natives.  We 
sailed  along  its  coast  always  in  sight  of  land  and 
ran  on  the  whole  course  toward  the  northwest  eight 
hundred  and  seventy  leagues.'     *     *     *      -^g  found 

' "  Questa  terra  sta  dentro  del  la  torrida  zona  giuntamente,  o  di  basso  del 
paralello,  cite  descriue  el  tropica  di  cancer  :  doue  alza  el  polo  dello  orizonte  23 
gradi  net  Jine  del  secondo  clyma." 

*  "  Tan  to  chg  corremo  dessa  870  leghe  tutia  uerso  el  maestrale," 
The  end  of  the  second  climate  was  at  8°  25'  north  latitude.     Ptolemy,  the 
geographer,  divided  the  surface  of  the  globe,  from  the  equator  to  the  sixty- 
sixth  parallel,  into  zones,  called  climates,  to  represent  the  successive  increase  of 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


167 


gold  in  some  places  but  not  much.  The  discovery 
of  the  country  and  the  knowledge  that  gold  was 
in  It  satisfied  us.     *     *     * 

'*  On  our  return  we  sailed  toward  the  sea  going 
between  the  north  and  east,  and  after  seven  days  we 
reached  some  islands.  *  *  *  w/^^  landed  on  one 
of  them,  where  we  found  many  people,  who  called  the 
island  Iti  [Hayti  ?].***  We  set  sail  for  Spain 
with  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  slave-prisoners, 
and  arrived  at  the  port  01  Cadiz  on  the  fifteenth  of 
October,  1498,'  where  we  were  well  received,  and 
sold  our  slaves.  This  is  what  happened  to  me  in  this 
my  first  voyage  that  may  be  considered  note- 
worthy." ' 

"  Shortly  after  the  departure  of  the  fleet  with 
v/hich  Vespucci  went  to  the  New  World,  Columbus 
complained  to  King  Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella 
that  the  permission  given  by  them  in  1495  to  those 
who  desired  to  go  on  voyages  of  discovery  toward  the 
west  was  prejudicial  to  the  privileges  previously 
granted  him  by  their  Spanish  majesties.  The  latter 
therefore  revoked  their  letters -patent  of  the  tenth  of 
April,  1495,  on  the  second  of  June,  1497,  declaring 
that  it  should  "  have  no  force  nor  effect  at  any  time, 
or  in  any  manner  whatever,  so  as  to  be  prejudicial  to 
the  said  admiral  and  to  whatever  we  have  thus  granted 
and  confirmed  to  him."  3 

fifteen  minutes  in  the  length  of  a  mid-summer  day.  The  first  climate  extended 
to  4°  15',  on  the  north  side  of  the  equator  ;  the  second,  from  4°  15'  to  8°  25'; 
and  the  third,  to  12°  30'. 

•"  Noi  alsifacemo  uela  p,  Spagna  con  222  prigioni  schiaui  :  &f  giugnemo 
nel  porta  di  Calls  adi  15  doctobre  1498." 

'  Lettera  di  Amerigo  Vespucci  delle  isole  nuouamente  trouate  in  quattro 
suoi  viaggi,     Primo  viaggio. 

Vide  Amerigo  Vespucci.  Vamhagen.  pp.  34-48.  Bibliotheca  Americana 
Vetustissima.     [Harrisse.]    pp.  55-68,  149,  150. 

•  Vide  Memorials  of  Columbus,  pp.  96,  97. 


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1 68 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


Mm 


"  The  fitting  out  of  the  fleet  [fcr  Columbus's  third 
voyage  to  the  Indies]  was  delayed  much  longer  than 
wi  s  necessary  through  the  negligence  and  bad  man- 
agement of  the  king's  officers,  and  particularly  that 
of  Don  Juan  Rodriguez  de  Fonseca,  archdeacon  of 
Seville.  Hence  it  happened  that  Don  Juan,  who  was 
afterward  bishop  of  Burgos,  was,  from  that  time  on- 
ward, a  bitter  enemy  to  the  admiral  and  his  affairs, 
and  was  the  chief  person  among  those  who  brought 
him  into  disgrace  with  their  catholic  majesties.' 
*  *  *  The  admiral  made  his  preparations  for  the 
voyage  with  all  possible  diligence,  and  on  the  thirtieth 
of  May,  1498,  set  sail  .from  the  bay  of  San  Lucar  de 
Berrameda,  with  six  ships,  freighted  with  provisions 
and  other  necessaries  for  the  relief  of  the  planters  in 
Espanola  and  the  peopling  of  that  island."  ^ 

On  Thursday,  the  fifth  of  July,  Columbus  steered 
westward  from  the  islands  of  Cape  Verd,  and  on  the 
last  day  of  the  month  altered  his  course  and  stood  to 
the  north.  "  One  day  about  noon  as  he  was  thus  sail- 
ing [off  the  coast  of  Venezuela,  South  America,  north 
of  the  mouths  of  the  Orinoco  river],  Alonso  Perez 
Nirando,  a  sailor  of  the  town  of  Huelva,  while  going 
up  to  the  round-top,  saw  the  peaks  of  three  mountains 
to  the  westward,  distant  about  fifteen  leagues.  Not 
long  afterward  they  beheld  land  extending  northeast- 
wardly as  far  as  they  could  see.  When  they  had 
given  thanks  to  God  and  said  the  Salve  Rcgina  and 
other  prayers  used  by  seamen  in  times  of  distress  or 
joy,  the  admiral  called  the  discovered  island,  la  Isla  de 

'  At  this  time,  says  Ferdinand  Columbus,  ' '  in  order  that  Don  Diego,  my 
brother,  and  I,  who  had  served  as  pages  to  Prince  Juan,  who  was  now  dead, 
might  not  suffer  by  his  delays  or  be  absent  from  court  until  the  time  of  his  de- 
parture, he  [the  admiral]  sent  us,  on  the  second  of  November,  1497,  from 
Seville,  to  serve  as  pages  to  her  majesty,  Queen  Isabella." 

*  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  Ixv, 


11!  I 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


169 


Trinidad  (the  island  of  the  Trinity),  for  he  had  thought 
of  giving  this  name  to  the  first  land  they  should  find 
on  the  voyage,  and  now  God  had  graciously  granted 
him  the  sight  of  three  mountains  near  together  as  has 
been  mentioned.  The  fleet  stood  directly  west  to  reach 
a  point  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  the  island,  and  then 
coasted  along  that  side  of  it  until  the  anchors  were 
cast,  five  leagues  beyond  the  cape,  which  Columbus 
called  Punta  de  la  Galera  (Point  of  the  Galley),  which 
name  was  suggested  by  a  rock  on  the  headland,  re- 
sembling, at  a  distance,  a  galley  under  sail.  On  the 
following  morning,  Wednesday,  Columbus  continued 
his  course  westward,  for  there  was  only  one  cask  of 
water  on  board  his  ship,  and  one  on  each  of  the  other 
vessels,  and  at  the  last  anchorare  no  convenient  place 
had  been  found  to  obtain  more.  At  the  next  headland, 
which  he  called  Punta  de  la  Playa  (Point  of  the  Strand), 
the  ships  anchored  and  the  crews  went  to  a  small 
brook  and  obtained  a  supply  of  fresh  water.  No  town 
or  people  were  seen  here,  although  they  had  observed 
many  houses  and  towns  along  the  coast.  *  *  * 
This  day,  which  was  the  first  of  August,  when  the  ves- 
sels were  sailing  between  Punta  de  la  Galera  and  Punta 
de  la  Playa,  they  discovered  the  continent,  distant 
about  twentyrfive  leagues  as  they  guessed.  Inasmuch 
as  they  thought  it  was  another  island,  they  called  it  Isla 
Santa  (Holy  Island)." 

When  the  ships  anchored  at  the  southwestern  ex- 
tremity of  the  island  of  Trmidad,  which  point  of  land 
Columbus  called  Punta  del  Arenal,  "  a  large  canoe," 
the  admiral  writes,  "  came  from  the  eastward,  contain- 
ing twenty-four  men,  all  in  the  prime  of  life,  fully  armed 
with  bows,  arrows,  and  shields.  As  I  have  said,  Hiey  were 
all  young,  well  proportioned,  and  not  dark  black,  but 


« 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  APiERICA. 


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I   1)  Hi  I 


,{|" 


y 


whiter  than  any  other  Indians  that  I  had  seen.  *  ♦  * 
They  wore  their  hair  ion^;  and  straight,  cut  in  the 
Spanish  fashion.  Their  heads  were  encircled  with 
cotton  scarfs  elaborately  colored,  like  the  head-dresses 
of  the  Moors.  Some  wore  these  scarfs  round  their 
bodies  as  a  covering  in  tne  place  of  breeches.  When 
I  reached  Punta  del  Arenal  I  found  that  the  island  of 
Trinidad  was  separated  from  the  land  of  Gracia  {/a 
tierra  de  Gracia^  by  a  strait  two  leagues  wide.  *  *  * 
"  I  discovered  beyond  the  point  which  I  called 
Punta  de  la  Aguda,  one  of  the  most  attractive  countries 
in  the  world,  and  very  densely  populated.  *  *  * 
Some  of  the  natives  immediately  came  in  canoes  to 
the  ship  to  request  me  in  the  name  of  their  king  to 
come  on  land.  When  they  saw  that  I  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  them,  they  came  in  great  numbers  in  their 
canoes,  to  the  ship,  many  of  them  wearing  pieces  of 
gold  on  their  breasts,  and  some  of  them  bracelets  of 
pearls  on  their  arms.  When  I  saw  these  I  was  ex- 
ceedingly pleased,  and  I  made  many  inquiries  to  learn 
where  the  people  found  them.  They  informed  me 
that  they  were  obtained  in  the  neighborhood  and  also 
at  a  place  north  of  the  country.  *  *  *  Desiring 
to  get  some  pearls  like  those  I  had  seen,  I  sent  some 
men  ashore  for  that  purpose.  *  *  *  They  related 
that  when  the  boats  reached  the  shore,  two  chiefs, 
whom  they  took  for  father  and  son,  came  to  them  from 
the  throng  of  the  people  and  conducted  them  to  a  very 
large  house,  at  two  springs,  not  round  and  tent-shaped 
as  the  other  houses.  In  this  house  were  many  seats, 
on  which  they  seated  our  men  and  themselves.     They 

'  Although,  according  to  Ferdinand  Columbus's  statement,  his  father 
called  the  firm  land  (or  rather  an  island)  at  the  mouths  of  the  Orinoco  River, 
Isla  Santa  (Holy  Island),  Columbus  really  called  the  continent.  La  Tierra  de 
Gracia  (Land  of  Grace). 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


171 


1 


then  caused  bread  to  be  brought  with  many  kinds  of 
fruit  and  various  wines,  both  white  and  red,  not  made 
from  grapes  but  apparently  from  different  fruits.  *  *  * 
The  men  were  congregated  at  one  end  of  the  building 
and  the  women  at  the  other.  Great  vexation  was  felt 
by  both  parties  because  they  could  not  understand 
each  other's  language,  for  they  each  desired  to  ask 
questions  concerning  their  respective  countries." 

Columbus,  describing  that  part  of  South  America 
which  he  called  Gracia,  now  known  as  Venezuela,  and 
also  referring  to  the  Orinoco  River  pouring  its  flood 
of  fresh  water  into  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  which  he  called 
Golfo  de  las  Perlas  (Gulf  of  Pearls),  remarks  :  "  I  think 
that  if  the  mentioned  river  does  not  flow  from  the 
earthly  paradise  that*  it  comes  from  a  vast  extent  of 
land  in  the  south,  of  which  nothing  hitherto  has  been 
known." 

In  the  letter  containing  this  information  respecting 
South  America  the  admiral  speaks  of  sending  to  King 
Ferdinand  and  Oueen  Isabella,  to  whom  the  letter  was 
addressed,  a  map  of  the  country  {la  phitura  de  la 
tierra). ' 

The  channel  between  the  island  of  Trinidad  and  the 
land  of  Gracia  (which  the  natives  called  Paria),  Colum- 
bus called  la  Boca  de  la  Sierpe  (the  mouth  of  the  Scr- 
pent).  The  fleet  then  sailed  from  the  Gulf  of  Paria 
through  its  northern  outlet,  which  Columbus  called  la 
Boca  del  Drago  (the  mouth  of  the  Dragon),  and  passed 
by  the  cape  which  he  called  Cabo  de  las  Conchas  dnd 
the  island  which  he  named  Margarita.  "Although,"  as 
Ferdinand  Columbus  remarks,  "  the  admiral  saw  that 

*  Letter  from  the  island  of  Esparlola. —  Vide  Select  letters  of  Christopher 
Columbus,  with  other  original  documents  relating  to  bis  four  voyages  to  the 
New  World.  Translated  and  edited  by  R.  H,  Major.  Loadon,  1870.  Sec- 
ond edition.    H»kluyt  Society  pub. 


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172 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


I,  '    " 


the  country  of  Paria  extended  much  farther  westward, 
nevertheless  he  says  that  from  that  time  forward  he 
could  not  give  as  good  a  description  of  it  as  he  wished 
on  account  of  his  eyes  being  too  much  inflamed  by 
constant  watching.  Therefore  he  was  compelled  to 
obtain  the  most  of  his  information  concerning  it  from 
the  sailors  and  pilots."  ' 

When  Columbus  arrived,  at  the  end  of  August,  at 
the  island  of  Espanola,  where  he  intended  to  recruit 
his  failing  health,  he  found  the  colonists  rebelling 
against  the  authority  of  his  brother  Bartolom^,  whom 
he  had  left  then;  as  adelantado,  or  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor, when  he  sailed  for  Spain  in  1496.  Columbus 
at  once  took  steps  to  put  an  end  to  the  sedition. 
Meanwhile  complaints  were  sent  to  their  Spanish  maj- 
esties, King  Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella,  who,  to 
adjust  the  differences  existing  between  the  two  con- 
tending factions,  sent  Francisco  de  Bobadilla  to  Es- 
panola to  discover  the  cause  of  the  insurrection  and  to 
punish  by  fine  and  imprisonment  those  vhom  he  should 
find  culpable.  Summoning  the  admiral  to  appear 
before  him  at  San  Domingo,  he,  as  soon  as  Columbus 
arrived,  orde;ed  him  to  be  put  in  irons  and  to  be  con- 
fined in  the  fortress.  Having  drawn  up  certain  charges 
against  Columbus,  he  sent  him  in  chains  to  Spain. 
About  the  middle  of  November,  i5oo,  the  vessel 
arrived  at  Cadiz.  When  the  news  of  Columbus's  hu- 
miliation at  the  hands  of  Bobadilla  became  known,  the 
people  everywhere  censured  the  latter  for  the  unwar- 
ranted abasement  of  the  distinguished  discoverer.  The 
king  and  queen  immediately  sent  orders  for  Columbus 
to  be  set  at  liberty,  and  afterward  received  him  with 
many   gracious    acknowledgments    of    his   important 

'Historic  de'  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  Ixv-kxiii. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


m 


services,  and  publicly  declared  that  Bobadilla  should 
account  to  them  for  his  ill  treatment.' 

When  the  information  contained  in  Columbus's 
letter  respecting  the  large  and  valuable  pearls  possessed 
by  the  people  of  Paria  became  known  in  Spain  a  num- 
ber of  capitalists  immediately  fitted  out  a  fleet  to  go  to 
the  Land  of  Pearls.  The  command  of  the  vessels  was 
given  to  Alonso  de  Hojcda,  who  had  accompanied 
Columbus  on  his  second  voyage.  The  cosmographer, 
Juan  de  la  Cosa,  and  Amerigo  Vespucci  went  with 
Hojeda.  Vespucci,  in  his  account  of  the  voyage,  says : 
'•  We  departed  from  the  port  of  Cadiz,  three  ships  in 
company,  on  the  sixteenth  day  of  May,  1499.  *  *  * 
In  forty-four  days  we  arrived  at  a  new  land,  which  we 
judged  to  be  main-land,  and  the  continuation  of  that 
previously  mentioned.  It  lay  in  the  torrid  zone  south 
of  the  equator,  where  the  south  pole  is  elevated  five 
decfrf'".."  They  sailed  from  their  firs.*-  olace  of  anchor- 
age  and  ran  southeastwardly  along  the  coast  forty 
leagues.  The  strong  currents  running  from  the  soMth- 
east  to  the  northwest  hindered  the  progress  of  the 
vessels  so  much  that  the  -explorers  determined  to 
change  their  course  and  to  sail  to  the  northwest.  Fol- 
lowing the  trend  of  the  coast  in  this  direction,  they, 
after  sailing  some  time,  reached  a  beautiful  bay,  at  the 
entrance  of  which  was  a  large  island.  About  eighty 
leagues  beyond  this  harbor  they  entered  another, 
where  they  went  on  land  and  obtained  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pearls  and  some  gold  from  the  friendly  natives. 
At  another  place  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  "  had 
their  cheeks  stuffed  with  a  green  herb  which  they  were 
continually  chewing  as  animals  chew  their  cud,  so  that 
they  were  scarcely  able  to  speak.     Hanging  from  the 

*  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  Ixxiv-lxxxvii. 


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174 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


neck  of  each  native  were  two  dried  gourd-shells,  one 
filled  with  the  herb  which  the  people  had  in  their 
mouths,  the  other  containing  a  white  meal  like  chalk 
dust.  The  natives  carried  small  sticks  which  they 
wetted  at  intervals  in  their  mouths  and  then  put  them 
into  the  meal  and  then  into  the  gourds  containing  the 
herb."  Then  they  again  filled  their  cheeks  with  the 
herb. 

At  another  place  the  explorers  remained  forty- 
seven  days,  where  they  obtained  "  one  hundred  and 
nineteen  marks  of  pearls "  in  exchange  for  some 
small  trifles.  From  a  native,  Vespucci  obtained  an 
oyster  containing  one  hundred  and  thirty  pearls.  The 
fleet  sailed  along  the  coast  to  where  it  was  "  fifteen 
degrees  north  of  the  equator."  Thence  the  explorers 
steered  for  Espafiola  to  obtain  provisions.  Departing 
from  the  isian''  m  the  twenty-second  of  July,  i5oo, 
they  sailed  for  ^pain,  and  arrived  at  the  port  of  Cadiz 
on  the  eighth  of  Sept'^.mber.' 

When  King  Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella  heard 
that  the  Portuguese  had  reached  India  by  sailing 
around  Africa,  they  commissioned  Columbus  to 
explore  the  western  coast  of  Paria,  where  he  con- 
ceived a  navigable  strait  could  be  found  through 
which  the  vessels  of  Spain  might  sail  to  Cathay.  Four 
caravels  composed  the  fleet  with  wnich  he  sailed 
from  Cadiz  on  the  ninth  of  May,  i5o2.  On  the  fifteenth 
of  June,  the  vessels  came  in  sight  of  one  of  the  Car- 

'LeHera  di  Amerigo  Vespucci.  Secundo  viaggio. —  J^«(/f  Historie  del  S. 
D.  Fernando  Colombo,  cap.  Ixxxiv.  Coleccion  de  los  viages  y  descubrimien- 
tos.     Navarrete.     torn.  iii.  pp.  4-q  ;  543-545. 

In  Decenber,  I4g9,  Vincente  YaSez  Pinzon  sailed  from  Palos,  and  came 
in  .sighi  of  the  coast  of  Brazil  at  a  point  of  land  which  he  calhd  Cabo  Santa 
M.  via  de  la  Consolacion.  '^he  same  month  Diego  de  Lepe  sailed  from  Palos 
and  n  ".de  discoveries  south  of  this  cape.  Rodrigo  de  Bastidas  sailed  from 
Cadiz  in  October,  1500,  and  explored  the  coa&t  of  Paria  westward  to  *he  isthmus 
of  Dariei). 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


m 


ibbean  islands  called  by  the  natives  Mantinino. 
Thence  they  sailed  to  the  island  of  Dominica,  and 
thence  to  Espafiola.  Departing,  or*  the  fourteenth 
of  July,  from  the  port  of  Brazil,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  island  of  Espafiola,  Columbus  sailed  toward  the 
Bay  of  Honduras,  eastward  of  which  he  imagined  was 
a  strait  through  which  be  might  sail  to  the  Indian 
Ocean  and  reach  Cathay.  "  We  came  to  certain 
islands,"  says  Ferdinand  Columbus,  who  had  accom- 
panied his  father  to  the  New  World,  "  where  we  went 
ashore  on  the  largest,  called  Guanaia,  whence  those 
that  make  sea-charts  took  occasion  to  call  all  those 
islands  Guanaia,  which  are  almost  twelve  leagues  from 
the  continent,  near  the  province  now  called  Honduras, 
though  the  admiral  tnen  called  it  Cabo  Casinas." 
While  the  fleet  was  anchored  in  one  of  the  roadsteads 
of  the  group  of  islands  called  Guanaia,  a  large  log- boat 
crowded  with  Indians  and  fillf  i  with  certain  commod- 
ities arrived  there.  Describing  the  capture  of  this 
highly  valued  prize,  Ferdinand  Columbus  remarks  : 
"  Fortune  so  ordered  it  that  a  canoe,  as  long  as  a  galley 
and  eight  feet  wide,  all  of  one  tree,  and  like  the  other 
boats  in  shape,  put  in  there,  loaded  with  commodities 
jrought  from  the  country  toward  the  west  and  bound 
ior  Nueva  Espana.'  In  the  middle  of  it  was  a  covering 
like  an  awning,  made  of  palm  leaves,  resembling  those 
of  the  Venetian  gondolas,  which  protected  all  beneath 
it,  that  neither  rain  nor  sea-water  could  wet  the  goods. 
Under  the  awnmg  were  the  women  and  children. 
Although  there  were  twenty-five  men  i.;  the  canoe, 
they  had  not  the  courage  to  defend  themselves  against 
those  in  our  boats  who  pursued  them.  The  canoe 
being  taken  without  any  opposition  it  was  brought  to 

'  Nueva  Espafia  (New  Spain),  was  the  name  which  the  Spaniards  g*\ve  to 
Yucatan  and  Mexico  when  they  first  explored  these  countries. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


( I 


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I   'V 


the  admiral's  caravel.     *     *     *     He  commanded  that 
such  articles  should  be  taken  as  were  thought  to  be 
the  most  desirable  and  valuable,  as  quilts,  shirts  of 
cotton  without  sleeves,  curiously  made  and  dyed  with 
different  colors,  apron- cloths,  and  large  sheets  in  which 
the  Indian  women  in  the  canoe  wrapped  themselves  as 
the  Moorish  women,  formerly  in  Granada,  were  in  the 
habit  of  doing-     There  were  also  long  wooden  swords, 
with  grooved  edges  on  each  side,  in  which  sharp  pieces 
of  flint  were  compactly  fastened  with  thread  and  a 
bituminous  substance,  and  these  cut  naked  men  as 
if  they  were  made  of  steel ;  also  copper  hatchets  to  cut 
wood,  like  those  of  stone  which  the  other  Indians  use  ; 
also  bells  of  the  same  metal,  and  dishes  and  crucibles 
to  melt  it  in.     For  food  they  had  such  roots  and  grain 
as  the  people  of  Espanola  eat,  and  a  kind  of  liquor 
made  of  maize,  like  the  English  beer,  and  an  abun- 
dance of  cacao-nuts,  which  in   New   Spain  pass  for 
money,  which  they  seemed  to  value  very  much,  for 
when   they   were   brought  aboard  among   the  other 
goods,  I  observed  that  when  any  of  these  nuts  fell,  the 
Indians  all  stooped  to  pick  them  up,  as  if  they  were 
things  of  valu:;.    *    *    *    Notwithstanding  the  admiral 
had  heard  so  much  from  those  in  the  canoe  concerning 
the  great  wealth,  politeness,  and  ingenuity  of  the  people 
westward  toward  New  Spain,  yet  thinking  that  he 
could  sail  to  those  countries  lying  to  the  leeward,  when 
he  thought  fit  from  Cuba,  he  would  not  go  that  way  at 
this  time,  but  adhered  to  his  intention  of  discovering 
a  strait  in  the  continent  to  pass  into  the  South  Sea,^ 
by  which  he  could  sail  to  the  countries  that  produce 
spice.     Therefore  he  resolved  to  sail  eastward  toward 
Veragua  a.id  Nombre  de  Dios,  where  he  imagined  the 

'  Mar  del  Sur,  the  (^arly  Spanish  name  for  the  Pacific  Ocean. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


17; 


strait  to  be.  *  *  *  He  was  deceived  in  the  under- 
taking, for  he  did  not  conceive  it  to  be  an  isthmus,  or 
a  narrow  neck  of  land,  as  it  really  was,  but  a  small  bay 
extendinof  from  sea  to  sea."  ' 

On  the  coast  of  Veragua,  now  the  isthmus  of 
Panama  or  Darien,  Columbus  found  the  ruins  of  an 
immense  building  covered  with  tables  of  strange  hiero- 
glyphics and  unique  reliefs.  These  vestiges  of  an  an- 
cient civilization  made  so  profound  an  impression  on 
the  mind  of  the  admiral  that  he  selected  a  curiously 
elaborated  piece  of  the  wall,  and  brought  it  away  in 
one  of  his  caravels.  "  This  was  the  first  place,  in  the 
Indies,"  says  Ferdinand  Columbus,"  where  they  saw  any 
sign  of  an  edifice.  It  was  a  great  mass  of  wall  of  im- 
agery seemingly  composed  of  lime  and  stone.  The  ad- 
miral ordered  a  piece  of  it  to  be  brought  away  to  show 
the  evidence  of  its  antiquity."' 

On  the  fifth  of  January.  i5o3,  they  cast  anchor  near 
a  river  which  the  Indians  called  Yebra,  and  the  ad- 
miral Belem  or  Bethlem.  Westward  of  it  was  a  river 
which  the  natives  called  Verajjua.  Columbus,  having 
determined  to  build  a  town  at  this  point,  began,  about 
the  end  of  February,  to  erect  "  houses  upon  the  river 
of  Belem,  about  a  cannon-shot  from  its  mouth,  within  a 
trench,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  at  the  mouth 
of  which  there  is  a  little  hill.  Besides  these  houses, 
which  were  all  of  timber  and  covered  with  the  leaves  of 
palm  trees  growing  along  the  shore,  another  large 
house  was  built  to  serve  as  a  store-house  and  magazine, 
in  which  were  stored  several  cannon,  some  powder, 
provisions,  and  other  necessaries  for  the  use  of  the 
planters.     *     *      * 

"  The  customs  of  the  Indians  here  are  somewhat 

'  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  I:c3:xviii-xc. 
*  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap,  xcii. 


i       M 


I 

ii 


ni 


178 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


Jl' 


\ii 


I 


similar  to  those  of  the  natives  of  Espanola  and  the 
neighboring  islands  ;  but  the  people  of  Veragua  and 
its  neighborhood,  when  they  talk  to  one  another  and 
eat  turn  their  backs,  and  are  always  chewing  an  herb, 
which,  as  we  think,"  says  Ferdinand  Columbus, "  makes 
their  teeth  to  decay  and  rot.  Their  food  is  fish ;  these 
they  take  with  nets  and  hooks.  *  *  *  Xhey  have 
an  abundance  of  maize,  which  is  a  kind  of  grain  grow- 
ing in  an  ear,  or  hard  head  like  millet,  of  which  they 
make  white  and  red  wine,  as  beer  is  made  in  England, 
and  mix  their  spice  with  it  as  pleases  their  palates.  It 
has  a  pleasant  taste  like  a  sharp,  lively  wine."  ' 

"  In  Cariay  and  the  adjacent  country,"  says  Co- 
lumbus, "  there  are  great  enchanters  of  a  very  dreadful 
kind.  *  *  *  I  saw  there,  built  on  a  mountain,  a 
sepulcher  as  large  as  a  house  and  elaborately  sculp- 
tured. The  body  lay  uncovered  with  the  face  down- 
ward. The  people  told  me  of  other  very  excellent 
works  of  art.  »  *  *  They  said  that  there  were 
great  mines  ofcopper  in  the  country,  of  which  metal 
they  make  hatchets  and  other  manufactured  articles, 
both  cast  and  soldered.  They  also  make  forges  from 
it,  and  all  the  apparatus  of  goldsmiths,  and  also  cru- 
cibles. The  inhabitants  wear  clothes.  I  saw  in  that 
province  large  sheets  of  cotton  elaborately  and  skill- 
fully mad-  and  others  very  delicately  colored  with 
pencils.  They  informed  me  that  in  the  interior, 
towards  Cathay,  that  the  people  there  have  them  inter- 
woven with  gold.  *  *  *  One  thing  I  dare  declare, 
for  there  are  many  to  attest  it,  that  in  the  land  of  Ve- 
ragua I  savv  more  indications  of  gold  in  the  two  first 
days  [of  my  stay  there]  than  I  had  found  during  four 
years  in  Espafiola." ' 

*  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  xciv-xcvl. 

*  Fide  Select  letters  of  Christopher  Columbus.     Major. 


■':    il 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


179 


le 
id 


The  Spaniards, however,  were  soon  attacked  by  the 
natives,  and  were  in  such  distressing  circumstances 
that  Columbus  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  purpose 
of  leaving  a  colony  on  this  part  of  the  continent  and  to 
take  his  men  on  board  the  ships  and  to  return  to  Es- 
panola.  Speaking  of  the  return -voyage,  Ferdinand 
Columbus  writes  :  "  Thus  rejoicing  that  we  were  all 
together  again,  we  sailed  along  the  coast  eastward. 
Although  all  the  pilots  were  of  the  opinion  that  we 
flight  return  to  San  Domingo  by  standing  away  to 
the  north,  nevertheless  the  admiral  and  his  brother 
knew  that  it  was  requisite  to  run  a  considerable  dis- 
tance along  this  coast  before  they  steered  across  the 
gulf  that  is  between  the  continent  and  Espanola,  at 
which  our  men  were  displeased,  thinking  that  the  ad- 
miral designed  to  sail  directly  for  Spain,  whereas  he 
neither  had  provisions  nor  were  his  ships  fit  for  the 
voyage.'     But  as  he  knew  best  what  was  to  be  done, 

'  Columbus,  in  his  letter  to  King  Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella,  from 
Jamaica,  dated  July  7/  1503,  says :  "This  is  the  account  I  have  to  give  of  my 
voyage.  The  men  who  accompanied  me  were  a  hundred  and  fifty  in  number, 
among  whom  were  many  considered  to  be  pilots  and  good  sailors,  but  none  of 
them  can  explain  whither  I  went  nor  whence  I  came.  The  explanation  is 
simply  this :  I  sailed  from  a  point  above  the  port  of  Brazil,  and  while  I  was  in 
EspaAola,  a  storm  prevented  me  from  following  my  intended  route,  for  I  was 
compelled  to  go  wherever  the  wind  drove  me.  At  the  same  time  I  became  very 
sick,  and  there  was  no  one  who  had  sailed  in  these  parts  before.  However, 
after  some  days  the  wind  and  sea  became  tranquil,  but  there  were  rapid  currents. 
I  put  into  a  harbor  at  the  island  called  Isla  de  las  Bocas,  and  afterward  steered 
for  Tierra-firme.  However,  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  correct  account  of  all  our 
movements,  for  I  was  carried  away  by  the  current  for  many  days  without 
seeing  land. 

"  I  ascertained,  notwithstanding,  by  the  compass  and  by  observation,  that  I 
was  running  parallel  with  the  coast  of  Tierra-firme.  No  one  could  tell  under 
what  part  of  the  heavens  we  were,  nor  at  what  time  I  changed  my  course  for 
the  island  of  Espaftola.  The  pilots  thought  we  had  arrived  at  the  island  of  St. 
John,  whereas  it  was  the  land  of  Mango,  four  hundred  leagues  westward  of  the 
place  mentioned  by  them.  Let  them  answer  and  say  if  they  know  where 
Veragua  is  situated.  I  assert  that  they  can  give  no  other  information  than  that 
they  went  to  lands  where  there  was  plenty  of  gold,  and  this  they  can  surely 
affirm  ;  but  they  do  not  know  the  way  to  return  there  for  it.     They  would  be 


,1,19 


!  -Ji 


it 


i8o 


TDISCOVERIES  of  AMERICA. 


we  held  on  our  course  until  we  came  to  Porto  Bello, 
where  we  were  obHged  to  leave  the  ship  Biscaina,  on 
account  of  its  leaky  condition,  being  all  worm-eaten 
through  and  through.  Steering  along  the  coast,  we 
passed  by  the  port  we  called  Retrete,  and  a  country 
near  which  there  were  many  small  islands,  which  the 
admiral  called  Las  Barbas,  but  the  Indians  and  pilots 
call  that  the  territory  of  the  cacique  Pocorosa.  We 
held  on  this  course  ten  more  leagues  to  the  last  land 
we  saw  of  the  continent,  called  Marmora,  and  on  Mon- 
day, the  first  of  May,  i5o3,  we  stood  to  the  north. 

*  *  *  Although  all  the  pilots  said  we  should  be 
east  of  the  Caribbee  islands,  yet  the  admiral  feared  we 
should  not  make  Espafiola,  which  proved  to  be  true. 

*  *  *  We  reached  an  Indian  town  on  the  coast  of 
Cuba,  called  Mataia,  where,  having  obtained  some  re- 
freshment, we  sailed  for  Jamaica."'  * 

On  his  return  to  the  island  of  Jamaica,  in  June, 
i5o3,  Columbus,  describing  his  voyage  along  the 
isthmus  of  Darien,  wrote  to  King  Ferdinand  and 
Queen  Isabella,  saying  :  "  On  the  thirteenth  of  May 
I  reached  the  province  of  Mango,  which  is  contiguous 
to  that  of  Cathay,  and  thence  I  steered  for  the  island  of 

obliged  to  go  m  a  voyage  of  discovery  as  if  they  had  never  been  there  before. 
There  is  a  way  of  reckoning  [the  course  and  distance  sailed]  derived  from 
astronomy  which  is  trustworthy  and  safe,  and  a  sufficient  guide  to  any  one  who 
understands  it.     This  resembles  prophetic  vision. 

"  The  vessels  of  India  do  not  sail  except  with  the  wind  abaft.  This  is  done, 
not  because  they  are  badly  built  or  clumsy,  but  because  the  strong  currents  in 
those  parts,  together  with  the  wind,  make  it  impracticable  for  them  to  sail  with 
the  bowline  {con  bolina),  for  in  one  day  they  would  lose  as  much  way  as  they 
might  have  made  in  seven.  For  a  similar  reason  I  could  not  use  caravels, 
even  though  they  weic  Portuguese  lateens.  This  is  the  reason  for  their  [the 
vessels  of  India]  not  sailing  except  with  a  favorable  wind,  and  they  will  some- 
times remain  in  port,  waiting  for  one,  seven  or  eight  months  at  a  time,  nor  is 
this  particularly  strange,  for  the  same  occurs  often  in  Spain." —  Fi</if  Select  letters 
of  Christopher  Columbus.     Major. 

'  Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,    cap.  xcvii-c. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


i8i 


Espanola."*  Peter  Martyr'  also  seems  to  have  held 
the  opinion  that  Columbus's  explorations  were  along  the 
continent  of  Asia.  Writing  in  i5io,  the  first  decade 
of  the  New  World,  he  remarks  :  "  The  opinion  of 
Christopher  Columbus  respecting  the  magnitude  of  the 
sphere  and  the  opinions  of  the  ancients  concerning  the 
under-navicfation  of  the  world  seem  to  be  adverse. 
Nevertheless  the  parrots  and  many  other  things 
brought  from  there  indicate  that  the  islands  savor  only 
of  India,  eitherbeing  near  it  or  else  of  the  same  nature."  ^ 
With  this  fourth  voyage,  the  zealous  and  en- 
thusiastic navigator  ended  his  life  work.  On  the 
twelfth  of  September,  1 5o4,  Columbus  for  the  last  time 

'  Letter  from  Jamaica,  July  7,  1503. 

'  Pietro  Martiic  d'  Angliiera,  commonly  called  Peter  Martyr,  a  descendant 
of  an  illustrious  Milanese  family  originally  from  Anghiera,  on  the  eastern  shore 
of  Lake  Maggiore,  in  upper  Italy,  was  born  in  1455  at  Arona,  on  the  wesiem 
border  of  the  lake.  lie  was  carried  to  the  baptismal  font  by  a  friar  of  the 
Dominican  order  and  christened  with  the  name  of  Peter,  that  of  the  martyr  of 
1252,  whose  feast-day  falls  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  April.  In  1477,  he  went  to 
Rome  to  fit  himself  for  the  priesthood.  There  he  became  acquainted  with  the 
Castilian  embassador,  the  Count  of  Tendilla,  and  was  induced  to  return  with  him 
to  Spain,  in  1487.  From  King  Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella  he  received  a 
number  of  honoring  commissions.  He  followed  the  royal  standard  through 
two  campaigns.  In  1501  he  w^'.s  sent  to  Egypt  to  conciliate  the  sultan.  He 
returned  to  Spai  1  in  August,  1502.  The  mission  to  Egypt  furnished  him  with 
some  of  the  material  for  his  Latin  work,  entitled  :  "  P.  Martyris  Angii  Medio- 
lanensis  opera  Legatio  Babylonica,  Oceani  decas,  poemata,  epigrammata." 
In  1505  he  was  made  prior  of  the  cathedral  of  Granada.  Pope  Leo  X. 
honored  him  with  the  ofllce  of  apostolical  prothonotary.  As  a  royal  counsellor 
in  the  affairs  of  the  Indies  he  acquired  a  very  extensive  range  of  information 
respecting  the  early  voyages  of  discovery  made  to  the  New  World.  His  work  : 
"  De  Orbe  Novo  Petri  Martyris  ab  Angleria  Mediolanensis  protonotarij  Ccsaris 
senatoris  decades,"  contains  valuable  historical  matter.  His  letters,  eiglit  hun- 
dred and  more,  in  the  collection  entitled  "  Opus  epistolarum,"  the  first  dated 
January  i,  148S,  the  last  M.iy,  1525,  throw  considerable  light  upon  the  numerous 
facts  relating  to  the  voyages  of  Columbus  and  other  navigators  of  his  time. 
His  "  Legatio  Babylonica"  was  first  printed  at  Seville  (Hispalis)  in  1511  ;  his 
"  De  Orbe  Novo  "  and  letters  at  Alcala  (Complutum)  in  1530.  He  died  in  152S, 
and  was  entombed  in  the  cathedral  of  Grenada, 

'  Quanuis  huius  Christophori  Coloni  opinio,  magniiudini  sphaere  &*  opinion, 
veterum  de  subnauigabili  orbe,  videatur  aduersari ,  psitlaci  tamen  inde  ahspnrtatii 
atque  alia  multa,  vel propinqttitate  vd  uatura  solum  Indicum  has  insulas  sapert 
indicant" — De  Orbe  Novo  decades,     dec.  i.     cap.  i. 


v% 


■I 


182 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


SM 


( 


set  sail  from  the  attractive  field  of  his  numerous  ex- 
plorations and  arrived  at  San  Lucar,  on  the  seventh  of 
November,  broken  down  in  health,  aged,  and  the  vic- 
tim of  many  unjust  accusations  and  bitter  disappoint- 
ments. Two  years  afterward,  on  the  twentieth  of  May, 
i5o6,  he  died  at  Valladolid,  being  about  seventy  years 
old,  leaving  to  another  the  discovery,  by  the  way  of  the 
west,  of  a  navigable  route  to  the  remote  coast  of 
Cathay. 

As  intended  by  him,  when  he  set  sail  on  his  first 
vogage,  Columbus  afterward  made  a  map  on  which 
he  delineated  "  all  the  sea  and  the  lands  of  the  ocean- 
sea  "  {del  mar  Oceanus)  discovered  by  him.'  Although 
the  admiral's  chart  is  lost,  there  are  several  maps  ex- 
tant, which,  in  part,  represent  the  islands  of  Juana, 
Jamaica,  Espanola,  and  the  smaller  ones,  ar  he  evidently 
!iad  oudined  them  on  his  new  sailing  chart  {carta 
nueva  de  navegar).  A  map  of  the  world,  in  the  Estense 
library,  at  Modena,  made  between  the  years  i5oi  and 
1 504,'  and  the  map  of  the  New  World  {tahvla  terre 
fwve),  in  the  edition  of  Ptolemy's  geography,  printed 
in  i5i3,  at  Strasburg,^  exhibit  the 'islands,  discovered 
by  Columbus  on  his  first  voyage,  and  of  which  he 
speaks  in  his  journal  of  1492  and  1493.  The  high 
latitudes  in  which  he  placed  the  Rio  de  Mares  and 
ether  rivers  of  Juana,  when  he  made  his  discoveries 

'  "  Tengo  propdsito  de  hacer  carta  nueva  de  navegar,  en  la  nial  sUuari  toda 
la  mar y  tierras  del  mar  Ocianus  en  sus  propios  Itigares  Jcbajo  su  vienio." — Co- 
leccion  de  los  viages  y  descubrimientos.     Navarrete.    torn.  i.  p.  3. 

*  Vide  Geographic  du  moyen  age,  etudiee  par  Joachim  Lelewel.  Atlas. 
Bruxelles,  1850.  Orbis  typus  universalis,  1501-1504,  Hydrographia  charta 
marina  Portugalensium.     Planche  xliii.     p.  xiii. 

■  Claudii  Ptolemei  viri  Alexandrini  mathematicae  disciplinae  philosophi 
doctissimi  geographiae  opus  novissima  traductione  e  Graecorum  archetypis 
castigatissime  pressum  :  caeteris  ante  lucubratorum  multo  praestantius.  *  *  * 
Anno  Christi  Opt.  Max.  mdxiii.  Marcii  xii.  Pressus  hie  Ptolemxus  Argen- 
tinae  vigilantissima  castigatione,  industriaque  Joannis  Schotti  urbis  indigenae. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


183 


"  toward  the  north,"  are  designated  on  these  maps. 
On  the  Ptolemy  map  the  name  c  doffun  de  abril  at  the 
southeast  point  of  Cuba  appears  to  designate  the  same 
cape  as  that  of  c  de  fvndabril  on  the  map  of  the  world 
mt.de  by  Johann  Ruysch,  the  German  cartographer,  con- 
tained in  the  edition  of  Ptolemy's  geography,  printed 
at  Rome  in  i5o8.'  Both  of  these  mispelled  names 
are  evidently  anomalous  forms  of  the  Spanish  desig- 
nation, C,  de  Fuenterabia.  The  names  on  Ruysch  s 
representation  of  the  island  of  Cuba  correspond  more 
closely  to  the  Spanish  orthography  of  the  designations 
given  by  Columbus  to  the  places  he  visited  than  those 
which  are  inscribed  on  the  two  maps  previously 
mentioned." 

The  earliest  map  extant  representing  the  territory 
discovered  in  the  western  hemisphere  is  a  map  of  the 
world  drafted  by  the  Spanish  cartographer,  Juan  de  la 
Cosa.3  It  was  found  by  Baron  de  Walckenaer  in  the 
possession  of  a  dealer  in  old  books  and  wares,  from 
whom  he  bought  it  for  a  small  sum  of  money.  Baron 
von  Humboldt  shortly  afterward  made  its  discovery 
known  in  his  notable  work  on  the  geography  of  the 

*  Vide  Map  :  Universalior  cogniti  orbis  tabula  ex  recentibus  confecta 
pbservationibus  :  in  cover-pocket. 

The  somewhat  similar  inscriptions  on  the  maps  of  1501-1504  and  1513: 
Hec  terra  cum  adiacentlb'  insulis  inuenta  est  per  Columbu  ianuensem  ex  mandato 
Regis  Castelle." — This  land  with  tlie  adjacent  islands  was  discovered  l)y  Colum- 
bus, a  Genoese,  by  the  command  of  the  king  of  Spain, — are  authoritative  decla- 
rations that  tlie  admiral  was  the  discoverer  of  the  represented  territory. 

'  Ruysch  has  printed  on  his  map  these  words  on  a  scroll,  on  the  west  side 
of  Cuba  :  "  Hvc  vsQ  naves  ferdinadi  recis  hispanie  pvenervt," — As  far  as 
this  place  the  ships  of  Ferdinand,  king  of  Spain,  come. 

"Juan  de  la  Cosa,  in  1493,  accompanied  Columbus,  on  his  second  voyage, 
as  a  cartographer.  In  1499  he  explored  the  coast  of  Paria  with  Alonso 
de  Hojeda  and  Amerigo  Vespucci.  '  In  November,  150Q,  he  again  sailed  with 
Hojeda  to  South  America,  and  heroically  met  his  death  while  defending  him- 
self, when  surrounded  by  a  party  of  assailing  savages,  in  the  village  of  Yur- 
baco,  in  the  province  called  Castilla  del  Oro  by  the  Spaniards. 


I 


1.1; 


iSi 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


new  continent.*  When  the  library  of  Baron  de  W  ilcke- 
natir  was  sold,  in  Paris,  in  1853,  La  Cosa's  map  was 
purchased  for  the  queen  of  Spain  for  lour  thousand 
and  twenty  francs.  It  is  now  in  the  Naval  museum, 
in  Madrid.'  The  famous  map-maker  drafted  the  whole 
world,  as  then  known,  on  an  ox-hide,  five  feet  nine 
inches  long  by  three  feet  wide,  on  a  scale  of  fifteen 
Spanish  leagues  to  a  degree.  The  map  is  attractively 
colored  and  brightened  with  gold.  It  may  rightly  be 
called  the  geographical  frontispiece  of  the  history  of 
the  discovery  of  America.' 

,  The  map  bears  the  inscription  "  ^uan  de  la  cosa  la 
fizo  enel  puerto  de  S :  mj"  en  ano  de.  1500!'- — ^Juan  de 
la  Cosa  made  it  in  the  port  of  Santa  Maria  in  the  year 
i5oo.  A  picture  of  St.  Christopher  bearing  the  Christ- 
child  across  the  water  ornaments  the  space  above  the  in- 
scription.' Most  prominent  of  the  islands  of  the  *'  Mar 
Oceanus  "  delineated  on  the  map  are  Cuba,  Habacoa,'* 
and  La  Espanola.     The  coast  of  South  America,  as  far 

*  Examen  critique  de  1'  histoire  de  la  geographie  du  nouveau  continent  et 
des  progics  de  1'  astronomic  nautique  aux  quinziime  et  seiziime  si^cles.  Par 
Alexandre  de  Humboldt.     Paris,   1836.     tome  troisi^me.     pp.   167,  174,  183. 

'  Vide  Notes  on  Columbus.  [By  Henry  Harrisse.]  New  York,  1866, 
Jean  et  Sebastien  Cabot,  lour  origine  et  leurs  voyages.  Par  Henri  Harrisse. 
Paris,  i88t.     pp.  52,  103,  156. 

*  Vide  Historical  and  geographical  notes,  1453-1530.  By  Henry  Stevens. 
New  Haven,  i86q.     p.  11. 

*  St.  Christopher,  it  is  said,  after  he  was  baptized  by  the  bishop  of  Antioch, 
took  up  his  abode  in  a  desert,  near  a  rapid  stream,  over  which  he  carried  trav- 
ellers on  his  back.  While  bearing,  one  day,  a  child  across  the  swollen  flood, 
he  discovered  that  it  was  the  Christ,  hence  hir  name  Christophorus,  the 
Christ-bearer. 

Speaking  of  his  father's  name,  Ferdinand  Columbus  remarks :  "  As  St. 
Christopher  is  reported  to  have  received  that  name  because  he  carried  Christ 
over  the  deep  waters  with  great  danger  to  himself,  whence  came  the  name  of 
Christopher,  and  as  he  conveyed  over  the  people  whom  no  other  could  have 
carried,  so  Admiral  Christophorus  Colonus,  imploring  the  assistance  of  Christ 
in  that  dangerous  voyage,  went  over  safely  himself  and  his  company,  that  those 
Indian  nations  might  become  citizens  and  inhabitants  of  the  church  triumphant 
in  heaven." — Historic  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,     cap.  i. 

*  Abaco  is  one  of  the  Bahama  islands. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


185 


as  it  had  been  explored,  is  well  represented  by  the  pains- 
taking map-maker.' 

La  Cosa,  having  seen  a  copy  of  the  map  made  by 
Giovanni  Caboto  (John  Cabot),  to  display  the  fields  of 
the  English  discoveries  of  1497  and  1498,  attempted 
to  show  in  what  part  of  the  New  World  dicy  were. 
As  oudined  by  him,  the  land  explored  by  Cabot 
trends  eastwardly  from  the  sea  discovered  for  the 
English  {mar  descubierta  por  iuglcsc),  to  the  Cape  of 
England  (Cavo  de  Inglaterra).  As  La  Cosa  had 
nothing  else  than  his  imagination  to  guide  him  in  deline- 
ating the  coast  of  North  America  between  the  field 
of  the  English  discoveries  and  South  America,  his  ex- 
tension of  the  main- land  from  the  one  to  the  other  has 
no  geographical  significance.  Unable  to  determine 
definitely  the  position  and  extent  of  the  territory  of  the 
New  World,  La  Cosa  projected  it  as  accurately  as  his 
information  respecting  the  explored  parts  of  its  sinuous 
coast  gave  him  knowledge.  Ignorant  of  the  limits  of 
the  New  Land'  he  honorably  darkens  that  part  which 
might  be  deemed  its  cartographic  development  with 
several  shades  of  meaningless  colors." 

La  Cosa's  map,  on  three  large  sheets  of  paper,  is  contained  in  Les  monu- 
ments tie  la  geographic  ou  recueil  d'  anciennes  cartes  europeennes  et  orientales 
*  *  ♦  publics  en  facsimile  de  la  grandeur  des  originaux  par  M.  Jomard, 
membra  de  1'  institut  de  France,  Paris.  Iraprimerie  de  Beau,  a  Saint-Gtr. 
main-en-I.aye. 

*  Vidt  Section  of  La  Cosa's  map  in  the  cover-pocket. 


m 


CHAPTER  VI. 


I 


m 


\^ 


li 


1496-1498. 

The  notable  part  which  England  took  in  searching 
for  a  navigable  passage  to  Cathay,  by  exploring  the  sea 
toward  the  west,  was  incited  by  the  success  attending 
the  explorations  of  Columbus  in  the  New  World.  For 
it  is  said  that  when  the  news  reached  England  that  the 
Genoese  seaman  had  discovered  the  coasts  of  India 
there  was  great  talk  in  the  court  of  King  Henry  VII., 
and  that  men  declared  with  much  admiration  that  it 
was  more  divine  than  human  to  sail  toward  the  west 
to  go  to  the  East  where  spices  grow.'  The  bold  pro- 
jector, who  obtained  for  England  the  distinguished 
honor  of  being  the  second  European  power  to  enter 
the  western  hemisphere  with  her  ships,  was  Giovanni 
Caboto  (John  Caboto),  a  Venetian,'  who  had  lived  a 
number  of  years  in  London.  With  confessed  con- 
fidence he  explained  to  King  Henry  and  his  learned 
counsellors  the  grounds  of  his  belief  that  the  eastern 
coast  of  Asia  could  be  reached  by  sailing  in  a  direct 
westward  course  from  England,  and  how  this  course 
would  be  a  shorter  way  than  the  one  taken  by  Colum- 
bus.    He  proposed  to  undv.rtake  the   voyage  at  his 

*  Rat  ;olta  di  navigation!  e  viaggi.     Ramusio.    vol.  i.     fol.  374. 

•  Little  is  known  concerning  the  early  history  of  Giovanni  Caboto.  In  the 
archives  of  Venice  is  the  record  of  his  naturalization,  dated  March  28,  1476, 
which  shows  that  he  had  lived  in  that  city  more  than  fifteen  years  before  the 
privilege  of  citizenship  was  granted  to  him.  Archives  of  Venice  :  Senate  Terra 
1473-1477.     torn.  vii.     p.  109. 

186 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


187 


own  expense  should  the  king  grant  him  the  necessary 
license. 

These  overtures  of  Caboto  appear  to  have  been 
made  about  the  beginning  of  the  year  1496.  Ruy 
Gonzales  de  Puebla,  the  Spanish  ambassador,  residing 
in  England,  having  learned  what  Caboto  had  proposed 
■  to  King  Henry,  at  onc^  communicated  the  info,  .nation 
to  their  majest-es,  King  Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella 
of  Spain.  Their  royal  highnesses,  in  a  letter  to  their 
representative  at  the  English  court,  dated  at  Tortosa, 
the  twenty-eighth  of  March,  1496,  thus  refer  to  what 
he  had  written  them  : 

"  You  say  that  a  person  like  Colon  has  come  there 
to  place  before  the  king  of  England  another  under- 
taking similar  to  that  of  the  Indies,  without  prejudice 
to  Spain  or  Portugal.  If  in  this  way  he  helps  him,  he 
will  be  as  free  to  go  to  the  Indies  as  we  were.  We 
believe  that  this  undertaking  is  thrown  in  the  way  of 
the  king  of  England  by  the  king  of  France  in  order 
to  withdraw  hfm  from  his  other  affairs.  See  that  the 
king  of  England  be  not  deceived  in  this  or  in  a  similar 
matter.  The  French  will  endeavor  as  best  they  can 
to  lead  him  into  such  enterprises,  inasmuch  as  they  are 
very  uncertain,  and  are  not  easily  prosecuted.  Like- 
wise see  that  those  *  *  *  •  he  is  not  able  to 
undertake  this  thing  without  prejudice  to  us  and  the 
king  of  Portugal." ' 

On  the  fifth  of  March,  1496,  King  Henry  VII. 
complied  with  Caboto's  request  as  set  forth  in  the 
following  petition  : 

'  An  effaced  part  of  the  dispatch. 

'Archives  of  Simancas.  Capitulaciones  con  Inglaterra.  Legajo  ii. 
fol.  16. 

Calendar  of  letters,  dispatches,  and  state  papers  relating  to  the  negotiations 
between  England  and  Spain,  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Simancas  and  else- 
where.    Edited  by  G.  A.  Bergenroth.    London,  1862.    vol.  i.    p.  89. 


II 


'St 


.i 


I 


i8S 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


"  To  the  kyng  our  souvereigne  lord 

"  Please  it  your  highnes  of  your  moste  noble  and 
haboundant  grace  to  graunt  unto  John  Cabotto,  citezen 
of  Venes,  Lewes,  3ebestyan  and  Sancto  his  sonneys 
your  gracious  lettres  patentes  under  your  grete  seale 
in  due  forme  to  be  made  according  to  the  tenour  here- 
after ensuyng.  And  they  shall  during  their  lyves  pray, 
to  god  for  the  prosperous  continuance  o^  your  moste 
noble  and  royale  astate  long  to  enduer." ' 

The  letters-patent  grante  1  to  Giovanni  Caboto  and 
his  sons,  Lodovico,  Sebastiano,  and  Sanctus,  to  his  and 
their  heirs  and  deputies,  commissioned  them  to  sail, 
with  five  ships  of  any  burden,  under  the  banners,  flags, 
and  ensigns  of  England,  to  all  parts,  regions  and  gulfs 
of  the  eastern,  the  western,  and  the  northern  seas,  in 
order  to  seek,  discover,  and  explore  whatever  islands, 
countries,  regions,  or  provinces  of  the  heathen  and  of 
the  infidels,  in  whatever  part  of  the  world  they  were 
situate,  which  were  then  unknown  to  all  Christians, 
As  set  forth  in  the  document,  the  cost  and  expense  of 
the  expedition  were  to  be  defrayed  by  Caboto  and  his 
sons.' 

With  this  commission  Giovanni  Caboto  set  sail 
from  the  port  of  Bristol,  in  the  spring  of  1497,  with  two 
ships,  one  of  which  was  named  the  Matthew.^  Sailing 
westward  from  England  he  reached  a  land  which  he 
believed  to  be  that  of  Cathay,  where  he  planted  the 
flag  of  England  and  that  of  Venice.  Having  explored 
the  coast  of  the  country  for  three  hundred  leagues,  he 
returned  to  England,  where  the  news  of  his  discoveries 
was  enthusiastically  received  by  the  interested  people. 


*  Public  Records.     Bill  number  51. 

•Hakluyt.     vol.  iii.  pp.  4,  5.     Rymer's  Foedera. 

595.  596. 

*  The  history  and  antiquities  of  'he  city  of  Bristol. 
trSg.    p.  172. 


London,  1727,     fols. 
By  William  Barrett. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


189 


'■ 


A  brief  description  of  this  voyage  is  contained  in  a 
a  letter  written  by  Lorenzo  Pasquaiigo,  in  London,  on 
the  twenty-third  of  August,  1497,  to  his  brothers, 
Alvise  and  Francesco,  residing  in  Venice  : 

"  The  Venetian,  our  countryman,  who  went  with  a 
ship  from  Bristol  to  search  for  a  new  island,  is  re- 
turned, and  says  that  seven  hundred  leagues  from  here 
he  discovered  firm  land  ( Terra  fermd),  the  territory  of 
the  Grand  Khan.  He  coasted  for  three  hundred 
leagues  and  landed  ;  saw  no  human  beings,  but  he  has 
brought  here  to  the  king  certain  snares  which  had 
been  set  to  catch  game,  and  a  needle  for  making  nets  ; 
he  also  found  some  felled  trees,  by  which  he  judged 
there  were  inhabitants.  He  returned  to  his  ship  in 
doubt,  and  he  was  three  months  on  the  voyage,  and  on 
his  return  saw  two  islands  to  starboard,  but  would  not 
land,  time  being  precious,  as  he  was  short  of  provisions. 
This  has  greatly  pleased  the  king.  He  [Caboto]  says 
that  the  tides  are  slack  there  and  do  not  flow  as  they 
do  here. 

"The  king  has  promised  him,  in  the  spring,  ten 
ships,  armed  to  his  order,  and  at  his  request  has  con- 
ceded him  all  the  prisoners,  except  those  confined  for 
high  treason,  to  man  his  fleet.  The  king  has  also 
given  him  money  with  which -he  may  amuse  himself 
until  that  time,  and  he  is  now  in  Bristol  with  his  sons 
and  bis  wife,  who  is  also  a  Venetian.'  His  name  is 
Juam  Talbot  and  he  is  called  the  great  admiral. 
Great  honor  is  paid  him  ;  he  dresses  in  silk,  and 
these  English  run  after  him  like  insane  people,  so 
that  he  can  enlist  as  many  of  them  as  he  pleases, 
and  a  number  of  our  own  rogues  besides. 

"The  discoverer  of  these  places  planted  o\'\  this 

•  In  the  privy-purse  accounts  of  King  Henry  VII.  is  this  entry  :  "  Aug. 
10,  1497.     To  bym  that  found  the  new  Isle,  lo  ;C-" 


'm 


iti: 


[I    ! 

i  l 

i  ! 


ml 


190 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


newly  found  land  a  large  cross,  With  one  flag  of  Eng- 
land and  another  of  Saint  Mark,  on  account  of  his 
being  a  Venetian,  so  that  our  banner  has  floated  very- 
far  afield." ' 

Raimondo  di  Soncino,  the  minister  of  the  duke 
of  Milan,  at  the  court  of  England,  in  a  letter,  written 
on  the  twenty-fourth  of  August,  14'  '',  also  speaks  of 
the  return  of  Caboto,  saying  that  he  "  found  two  very 
large  and  fertile  islands,  having  likewise  discovered 
the  Seven  Cities,  four  hundred  leagues  from  England, 
on  the  western  passage.  This  next  spring  his  majesty 
intends  to  send  him  with  fifteen  or  twenty  ships."  * 

The  discovery  of  the  two  islands  mentioned  by  Son- 
cino is  spoken  of  in  two  inscriptions  placed  on  a  large 
map  of  the  world,  preserved  in  the  National  library  in 
Paris.  The  Spanish  inscription  reads :  "  This  land 
was  discovered  by  loan  Caboto,  a  Venetian,  and  by 
Sebastian  Caboto,  his  son,  in  the  year  of  the  birth  of 
our  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  m.cccc.  xciiii  [M.cccc.xcvii?], 
on  the  twenty-fourth  of  June,  in  the  morning,  to  which 
they  gave  the  name,  Prima  tierra  vista  (First  land 
seen),  and  to  a  large  island,  which  is  by  the  said  land, 
they  gave  the  name  of  S^nt  Joan  (Saint  John),  because 
it  was  discovered  the  same  day."  ^ 

'  Diarii  di  Marin  Sanuto.  torn.  i.  fol.  374.  I/IS.  in  Marciana  library, 
Venice. 

Calendar  of  state  papers  and  manuscripts  relating  to  English  affairs  in  the 
archives  and  collections  of  Venice  and  other  libraries  of  northern  Italy.  Edited 
by  Rawdon  Bro'v  1.     London,  1864.     vol.  ii.    p.  262. 

*Sforza  archives,  Milan.    Calendar  of  state  papers.     London,  1864.     "oL 

ii.     p.  260. 

*'*  Esta tierra  fuedescubiertapor  loan  Caboto  Veneciano,y  Sebastian  Caboto 
Stt  hijo,  anno  del  nascimierte  de  nuestro  Saluador  lesu  Christo  de  m.  cccc. 
xciiii.  a  ueinte  y  quatro  de  lunio  por  la  mannanii,  ala  qual  pusieron  nobre 
prima  tierra  uista,  y  a  una  isla  grade  que  estapar  de  la  dha  tierra,  le pusieron 
nombre  sdnt  loan,  por  auer  sido  descubicrii  el  tnismo  </««."— Tabla  primera. 
No.  8. 

The  Latin  inscription,  which  seems  to  be  a  translation  of  the  Spanish  one, 


•f    ^i 


I 


11 


I! 


r^ 


■^ 


A  copy  of  a  part  of  the  map  of   the  world  in  the  Biblioth^que  Nationale,  Paris 


larger  than  this 


kn< 
cop3 


Rationale,  Paris,  known  as  the  Cabot  map  of   1544- 
larger  than  this  copy.) 


(The  original  is  about  one-third 


1' 

i  J 

.■.«'    V- 

»■  '■ 

-  it'  if 

tl 

'\Hl 

t 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


191 


t 


The  map,  on  the  margin  of  which  this  inscription 
appears,  seems  to  be  a  copy  of  one  made  by  Sebastiano 
Caboto,  in  1 644,  if  the  following  statement  of  another 
Spanish  inscription  placed  on  the  chart  be  true  :  "  Se- 
bastian Caboto,  captain  and  chief  pilot  of  his  sacred 
christian  catholic  majesty,  the  emperor,  Charles  V.  of 
that  name,  and  king,  our  sovereign,  made  this  large 
planisphere,  in  the  year  of  the  birth  of  our  Saviour, 
Jesus  Christ,  1544,  dr-^wn  with  degrees  of  latitude  and 
longitude,  and  with  winds  like  a  marine  chart,  copying 
in  part  the  maps  of  Ptolemy,  and  in  part  those  of  the 
modern  discoverers,  Spaniards  as  well  as  Portuguese, 
and  in  part  those  made  by  his  father  and  by  him."  * 

As  will  be  seen  on  the  map,  the  inscription  Prima 
tierra  uista  is  placed  opposite  the  tract  of  land  on  the 
forty- eighth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  now  known  as 
Cape  Breton  Island.  Evidently  to  obviate  a  miscon- 
ception respecting  the  situation  of  the  land  first  de- 
scribed, the  words  prima  uista  (first  seen)  are  inscribed 
on  the  peninsula  to  which  the  former  inscription  di- 
rects the  eye.    On  this  map  also  is  seen  a  large  island, 

reads  :  "  Terram  hanc  olim  nobis  clausam,  apertiit,  loannes  Cabotus  Venetus, 
necno  Sebastiamts  Cabotus  eizis  /iHus,  anno  ab  orbe  redciupto  1494.  die  ttero  24. 
July,  hora  5.  sub  dilkctdo,  qua  terra  primu  uisam  appeUantt  b'  Insula  quanda 
magna  ei  opposita.  Insula  diui  loannis  nominarut,  quippe  quae  solenni  die  festo 
diui  loannis  aperta  fuit." — Tabula  prima.     No.  8. 

"John  Caboto,  a  Venetian,  and  also  Sebastian  Caboto,  his  son,  made  the 
land  accessible;  which  formerly  was  closed  to  us,  in  the  )'ear  of  the  redemption 
of  the  world  1494  [1497?],  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  rf  July  [June  ?]  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  which  land  he  called  the  first  seen,  pri mum  visain,  and 
a  large  island  opposite  to  it,  he  named  the  island  of  Saint  John,  because  it  was 
found  on  the  day  of  the  (east  of  Saint  John." 

'  "Sebastian  Caboto  capitan,  y  piloto  mayor  de  la  S.  c,  c,  m.  del  Imperador 
don  Carlos  quinto  deste  nombre,  y  Rey  nuestro  sennor  hizo  eita  Jigiira  extensa 
en  piano,  anno  del  nasciem"  de  nro  saluador  lesit  Christo  de  m.d.  xUiii.  annos, 
tirada  por  grados  de  latitud  y  longitud  con  stis  ttieniot  como  carta  de  marear, 
imitando  en  parte  al  Ptolomeo,  y  en  parte  aios  modemos  dcscobridores,  asi  Estan- 
noles  como  Fortugurses,  y  parte  por  su  padre,  y  por  el  descubierto" — Retulo  del 
auctor. 


'I 


1 


193 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


lying  northwest  of  the  land  of  Prima  Vista,  bearing  the 
name,  Y'  de  S.  Juan  (Island  of  St.  John). 

In  a  letter  written  in  London,  on  the  eighteenth  of 
December,  1497,  by  Raimondo  di  Soncino  to  the  duke 
of  Milan,  a  very  interesting  account  is  given  of  Caboto's 
explorations  in  the  western  hemisphere  :  "  Perhaps, 
your  excellency  in  the  press  of  so  much  business  will 
not  be  disturbed  to  learn  that  his  majesty  [King 
Henry  VII.]  has  gained  a  part  of  Asia  without  a 
stroke  of  the'  sword.  In  this  kingdom  is  a  popular 
Venetian  called  Messer  Joanne  Caboto,  a  man  of  con- 
siderable ability,  most  skillful  in  navigation,  who  having 
seen  the  most  serene  kings,  first  him  of  Portugal,  then 
him  of  Spain,  that  they  had  occupied  unknown  islands, 
thought  to  make  a  similar  acquisition  for  his  majesty 
[the  king  of  England].  And  having  obtained  the 
royal  privileges  which  gave  him  the  use  of  the  knd 
found  by  him,  provided  the  right  of  possession  was  re- 
served to  the  crown,  he  departed  in  a  litde  ship,  from 
the  port  of  Bristol,  in  the  western  part  of  this  kingdom, 
with  eighteen  persons  who  placed  their  fortunes  with 
him.  Passing  Ibernia  [Ireland]  more  to  the  west  and 
then  ascending  toward  the  north,  he  began  to  navigate 
the  eastern  part  of  the  ocean.  Leaving  (for  some 
days)  the  north  to  the  right  hand,  and  having  wan- 
dered enough  he  came  at  last  to  firm  land  {terra 
fcrmd)  where  he  planted  the  royal  banner,  took  pos- 
session for  his  highness,  made  certain  marks  and 
returned. 

••  The  said  Messer  Joanne,  as  he  is  a  foreigner  and 
poor,  would  not  be  believed,  if  his  parti^ers,  who  are 
all  Englishmen  and  from  Bristol,  did  not  testify  to  the 
tmth  of  what  he  tells.  This  Messer  Joanne  has  the 
representation  of  the  world  on  a  map  {in  una  carta). 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


193 


and  also  on  a  globe  {in  una  sphcra  solida),  which  he 
has  made,  and  he  shows  by  them  where  he  arrived, 
and  going  toward  the  East,  has  passed  much  of  the 
country  of  Tanais. 

"  And  they  say  that  the  land  is  fertile  and  temperate, 
and  think  that  red-wood  {d  brasilio)  grows  there,  and 
the  silks,  and  they  affirm  that  there  the  sea  is  full  of 
fish  that  can  be  taken  not  only  with  nets,  but  with  fish- 
ing-baskets, a  stone  being  placed  in  the  basket  to  sink 
it  in  the  water,  and  this,  I  have  said,  is  told  by  the  said 
Messer  Joanne. 

"  And  the  said  Englishmen,  his  partner?,  say  that 
that  they  can  bring  so  many  fish  that  this  kingdom 
will  have  no  more  business  with  Islanda  (Iceland),  and 
that  from  that  country  there  will  be  a  very  great  trade  in 
the  fish  which  they  call  stock-fish  {stochfissi).  But  Messer 
Joanne  has  his  thoughts  directed  to  a  greater  under- 
dertakir.g,  for  he  thinks  of  going,  after  this  place  is  oc- 
cupied, along  the  coast  farther  toward  the  East  until 
he  is  opposite  the  island  called  Cipango,  situate  in  the 
equinoctial  region,  where  he  believes  all  the  spices 
of  the  world  grow,  and  where  there  are  also  gems. 
And  he  says  that  he  was  once  at  Mecca,  where  from 
remote  countries  spices  are  carried  by  caravans,  and 
that  those  carrying  them  being  asked  where  those 
spices  grew,  said  they  did  not  know,  but  that  they 
came  with  other  merchandise  from  remote  countries  to 
their  home  by  other  caravans,  and  that  the  same  infor- 
mation was  repeated  by  those  who  brought  the  spices 
in  turn  to  them.  And  he  argues  that  if  the  oriental 
people  tell  to  those  of  the  south  that  these  things  are 
brought  from  places  remote  from  them,  and  thus  from 
hand  to  hand,  presupposing  the  rotundity  of  the  earth, 
it  follows  that  the  last  carry  to  the  northern,  toward 


I 


194 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


l\ 


!. 


the  west.  And  he  tells  this  in  a  way  that  makes  it 
quite  plain  to  me  and  I  believe  it.  And  what  is  a 
greater  thing,  his  majesty,  who  is  learned  and  not 
prodigal,  places  confidence  in  what  he  says,  and  since 
his  n^turn,  provides  well  for  him,  as  this  Messer  Joanne 
tells  me. 

«•  And  in  the  spring  he  says  thathis  majesty  will  arm 
some  ships  and  will  give  him  all  the  criminals  so  that 
he  may  go  to  this  country  and  plant  a  colony  there. 
And  in  this  way  he  hopes  to  make  London  a  greater 
place  for  spices  than  Alexandria.  And  the  principals 
of  the  business  are  citizens  of  Bristol,  great  mariners 
that  now  know  where  to  go.  They  say  that  the  voy- 
age will  not  take  more  than  fifteen  days,  if  fortune 
favors  them  after  leaving  Ibernia.  I  have  talked  with  a 
Burgundian,  a  companion  of  Messer  Joanne,  who  af- 
firms the  same,  and  who  is  willing  to  go,  since  the  ad- 
miral {almirante),  as  Messer  Joanne  is  already  styled, 
has  given  him  an  island,  and  has  also  given  another  to 
his  barber,  a  Genoese,  and  they  regard  the  two  as 
counts,  and  my  lord,  the  admiral,  the  chief.  And  I  be- 
lieve that  some  poor  Italian  friars  will  go  on  the  voy- 
age, who  have  the  promise  of  being  bishops.  An*;!  T; 
being  a  friend  of  the  admiral,  if  I  wished  to  go,  could 
have  an  archbishopric." ' 

In  order  to  secure  the  king's  permission  to  go  on 
the  proposed  voyage,  Giovanni  Caboto  again  addressed 
a  petition  to  King  Henry  VII.,  requesting  his  majesty 
to  grant  him  letters-patent  to  fit  out  six  ships,  in  any 
of  the  ports  of  England,  and  "  theym  convey  and  lede 
to  the  Londe  [land]  and  Isles  of  late  founde  "  by  him. 
The  request  was  granted,  and  the  king,  on  the  third 
day  of  February,  1498,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  his 

'  Archives  of  Milan.     Annuario  scientifico.     Milan,  1866.    p.  70a 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


'95 


reign,'  licensed  him  to  take  six  ships  as  he  desired,  and 
"  all  suche  maisters,'  maryners,  pages,  and  subjects"  as 
would  willingly  "  goo  and  pass  with  hym  in  the  same 
shippes  to  the  seid  Londe  or  lies." ' 

Having  obtained  his  letters-patent,  Giovanni  Ca- 
boto,  in  a  short  time,  had  five  ships  manned  and  pro- 
visioned for  one  year.  Early  in  the  summer  of  1408 
he  set  sail  to  return  to  the  field  of  his  first  explorations. 
Pedro  de  Ayala,*  in  a  letter  dated  London,  July  25, 
1498,  addressed  to  their  Spanish  majesties,  King  Fer- 
dinand and  Queen  Isabella,  writes  as  follows  concerning 
Caboto's  second  voyage  :  "  I  think  your  highnesses  have 
alr'^  ady  heard  that  the  king  of  England  has  equipped 
a  fleet  in  order  to  discover  certain  islands  and  firm 
land  {Herrafirme),  which  they  have  told  were  discov- 
ered by  certain  persons  of  Bristol,  who  fitted  out  some 
ships  during  the  past  year  for  the  same  purpose.  I 
have  seen  the  map  which  the  discoverer  has  made, 
who  is  another  Genoese  like  Colon,  and  who  has  been 
in  Seville  and  in  Lisbon  soliciting  aid  for  this  under- 
taking. The  people  of  Bristol  have,  for  the  last  seven 
years,  sent  every  year  two,  three,  or  four  caravels  to 
search  for  the  i?  .nd  of  Brazil  [Red- wood],  and  the 
Seven  Cities,  according  to  the  fancy  of  this  Genoese. 
The  king  determined  to  send  the  fleet,  because  in  the 
past  year  they  brought  certain  news  of  having  found 

'  The  thirteenth  year  of  the  reign  Oi  Henry  VII.  began  on  the  twenty-fifth 

of  August,  1497. 

"  Henry  VII.,  1498,  March  22.  To  Lanslot  Thirkill  of  London,  upon 
a  Prest  for  his  shipp  going  towards  the  new  Ilande,  £.  20. — Item  delivered  to 
Launcelot  Thirkill  going  towards  the  new  lie  in  Trest,  £.  20. — April  I.  Item 
to  Thomas  Bradley  and  Louncelot  Thirkill  going  to  the  new  Isle,  £.  30. — To 
John  Carter  going  to  the  newe  He  in  reward  40.  s." — Excerpta  historica. 
London,  1831.    pp.  Ii6,  117. 

•  Public  Records.     Bill  number  6.     Hakluyt.    vol.  iii.    p,  5.     Memoir  of 
Sebastian  Cabot.     [Richard  Bidale.]     Phila.  1831.     pp.  74.  75- 

*  Pedro  de  Ayala,  the  Spanish  Ambassador,  was  sent  to  London  in  1497. 


\   I 

1    I 

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196 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


land.  The  fleet  consists  of  five  ships  that  carried  pro- 
vision for  one  year.  The  news  has  come  that  the 
vessel  in  which  Friar  Bui! '  went  has  returned  to  Ire- 
land in  great  distress,  the  ship  being  leaky.  The  Gen- 
oese has  continued  his  v  'yage.  I  have  seen  the  course 
he  steered  and  the  extent  of  it,  and  1  think  that  what 
they  have  found  or  what  they  are  in  search  of,  is  what 
your  highnesses  already  possess,  for  it  is  .  2  cape 
which  was  given  to  your  highnesses  by  the  convention 
with  Portugal.  It  is  expected  that  they  will  return 
toward  September.  I  write  this  because  the  king  of 
England  has  spoken  to  me  on  the  subject,  and  he 
thinks  that  your  highnesses  will  be  greatly  interested 
in  it.  I  think  the  land  is  not  farther  distant  than  four 
hundred  leagues.  I  told  him  that  in  my  opinion  the 
land  was  already  in  the  possession  of  your  highnesses, 
and  though  I  gave  i  ly  reasons  he  did  not  like  them. 
I  believe  that  }  our  highnesses  are  already  informed  of 
this  matter,  and  I  do  not  now  send  the  chart  or  map  of 
the  world  which  that  man  has  made,  for  in  my  opinion 
it  is  false,  since  it  makes  it  appear  as  if  the  land  in 
question  were  not  the  said  islands."  ' 

The  history  of  Giovanni  Caboto  terminates  with 
the:  information  contained  in  Pedro  de  Ayala's  letter. 
Notiiing  definite  is  known  respecting  his  death. 

From  the  ambiguous  and  contradictory  information 
furnished  by  contemporaneous  writers  concerning  the 
voyages  of  Sebastiano  Caboto,  it  appears  that  he  sailed 
to  the  New  Land,  either  in  the  years  1497  and  1498, 
with  his  father — or  in  1499,  in  command  of  a  fleet  of 
vessels  fitted  out  in  the  port  of  Bristol,  England.     For 

'  Bernardo  Bull,  a  Benedicllue  monk,  who  accompanied  Columbus  on  his 
second  voyage,  in  1493,  and  returned  to  Spain  in  1494. 

•Archives  of  Simancas.  Tratado  con  Inglaterra.  Leg.  ii.  Calendar  of 
letters,  dispatches,  and  state  papers.     London,  1862.     vol.  i.     pp.  176,  177. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


197 


it  is  said  that,  in  tlie  fourteenth  year  of  King  Henry's 
reign,'  Sebastiano  Caboto  set  sail  on  a  voyage  to  an 
island  where  he  knew  he  could  obtain  many  things  of 
value  :  "  This  year  one  Sebastian  Gabato  a  genoas 
sonn-i  borne  in  Bristmv  professing  himselfe  to  be 
experte  in  knowledge  of  the  circute  of  the  worlde 
and  Ilandes  of  the  same  as  by  his  Charts  and  other 
reasonable  demonstrations  he  shewed,  caused  the 
king  to  man  and  victual  a  shippe  at  Bristow  to 
search  for  an  Ilande  whiche  he  knewe  to  be  replen- 
ished with  rich  commodities  :  in  the  ship  diverse 
merchauntes  of  London  adventured  smal  stockes, 
and  in  the  company  of  this  shippe,  sayled  out  of 
Bristmv  three  or  foure  smal  shippes  fraught  with 
slight  and  grosse  wares  as  course  cloth,  caps,  laces, 
points." ' 

Peter  Martyr,  speaking  of  the  voyage  says  :  "  He 
fitted  out  two  ships  in  England  at  his  own  expense, 
and  with  three  hundred  men  steered  toward  the  north, 
until,  in  July,  he  found  vast  icebergs  floating  in  the 
sea  and  almost  perpetual  daylight,  though  on  the  land 
the  snow  and  ice  had  melted.  Therefore  he  was  com- 
pelled to  turn  the  sails,  as  he  says,  and  to  go  toward 
the  west,  and  yet  he  held  to  the  south,  the  shore  bend- 
ing, that  he  almost  leached  the  degree  of  the  latitude 
of  the  strait  of  Hercules,  and  proceeded  so  far  to  the 
west  that  he  may  have  had  the  island  of  Cuba  on  his 

'The  fourteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.  began  August  21,  1498, 
and  ended  August  21,  1499. 

•  The  Chronicle  of  England,  from  Brute  vnto  this  present  yeare  of  Christ 
1580.     By  John  Stow.     London,  1580.     p.  862. 

Robert  Fabian,  from  whose  work  Slow  obtained  the  information  concern- 
ing Caboto's  voyage,  was  the  author  of  the  "  Chronicle  of  England  and  France," 
or,  as  he  called  it,  "  The  concordance  of  stories."  He  was  born  in  London 
about  the  year  1450.  Besides  being  an  alderman  of  the  city,  he  was  one  of  its 
sheriffs  in  1493.  He  died  in  I  ^ndon  in  1512,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Michael's, 
Cornhill. 


■  SI 


198 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


1 
I  t 


^  ii:  • 


left  hand,  being  almost  to  its  degree  of  longitude.' 
Steering  along  this  coast,  which  he  called  Bacallaos, 
he  found,  as  he  says,  the  currents  of  the  sea  running 
toward  the  west,  but  gently,  as  those  found  by  the 
Spaniards  navigating  in  the  southern  waters.  It  is 
not  only  likely  to  be  true,  but  it  may  be  accepted  as  a 
fact,  that  between  these  regions  [Bacallaos  and  the 
West  Indies]  there  is  a  great  space  still  unexplored 
that  offers  a  way  [to  the  East],  where  the  water  flows 
from  east  to  west.  These  currents,  I  think,  are  made 
to  flow  round  the  earth  by  the  impulsion  of  the  heavens, 
and  are  not  thrown  up  and  swallowed  again  by  De- 
morgorgon  breathing.'  Perhaps,  they  may  be  caused, 
as  it  is  said,  by  influx  and  reflux. 

"  Cabotto  himself  called  these  regions  Baccallaos 
i^Baccallaos  Cabottiis  ipse  terras  illas  oppcllavit),'bG.cdMSG. 
in  the  sea  there  he  found  great  shoals  of  certain  large 
fish  resembling  tunnies,  which  name  was  given  them  by 
the  natives.3     These  fish  v/ere  so  numerous  that  sorne- 

*  "  Qiiare  coactus  fuit,  uti  ait,  vela  vertere  et  occidentem  isequ  tetntditque 
tamtn  aJ  meridiem,  littore  sese  inctirvante,  ut  Ilcrcitlci  frcd  lalitudine  J'lri 
gradus  aqiiarit  ad  occidentemqtte  profcctus  (auturn  est,  ut  Cubam  insulam  i 
iaua  longitudiiie  graduum  fciii parent  hal>i:cnt." 

The  Strait  of  Gibralter  (Strait  of  Hercules)  is  in  36°  north  latitude. 

'  Demorgorgon,  the  spirit  of  the  earth. 

'  The  name  Ikiialiaos,  or  baccallaos,  is  evitlcntly  derived  from  the  Greek  word 
fiaWjXoi,  a  large,  lusty  fellow.  Names  similar  to  this  appellation  rvere  used 
by  the  Greeks  as  early  as  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era.  Athcnreus,  in 
his  work  entitled  ^etTTVO^OcpiffTcxi  (the  learned  men  at  supper),  presents 
this  information  respecting  certain  fish:  "  They  say  that  they  are  usually  caught 
in  couples,  and  that  one  is  always  found  following  at  the  tail  of  the  other  ;  and, 
therefore,  from  the  fact  of  one  following  cli>se  on  the  tail  of  the  other,  some 
<incicnts  call  men  who  are  intemperate  and  libidinous  by  the  same  name.  *  *  * 
Euthydemus,  in  his  work  on  Cured  I'ish,  says:  '  Some  call  this  fish  [ihe  cod] 
the  bacchui,  and  some  the gel/ria,  and  some  the  hake.'" — The  Deipnosophists 
or  banquet  of  the  learned  of  Alhenccus.  Literally  translated  by  C.  D.  Yonge. 
London,  1854.     vol.ii.     pp.  442,  496. 

Great  niimbersof  the  common  c<id  {morrhiiti  vulgaris]  are  annually  caught 
on  the  fishing-banks  off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  and  N.:va  Scotia.  This  fish 
is  very  prolific.  It  is  said  that  eight  millions  of  eggs  have  been  counted  in  the 
roc  of  a  female  cod.     Cod  are  sometimes  caught  that  weigh  ninety  pounds. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


199 


( 


times  they  retarded  the  progress  of  his  ships.  He 
found  the  people  of  these  regions  covered  only  with 
skins,  but  the  natives  were  not  wholly  destitute  of 
reason.  He  r.lso  relates  that  in  these  regions  there  is 
a  great  number  of  bears  which  cat  fish.  They  plunge 
into  the  water  where  they  see  a  shoal  of  fish  and  fasten 
their  claws  between  the  scales  of  the  fish,  and  in  this 
way  convey  them  to  the  shore,  where  they  devour 
them.  The  hunger  of  the  bears  being  appeased, 
they  do  not  annoy  men.  He  declares  further  that  in 
many  places  he  saw  copper  {on'chalcum)  among  the 
natives.   '  -v: -■■;.- v.v. 

Gomara,  the  Spanish  historian,  says :  "But  he  who 
made  this  land  more  widely  known  was  Sebastian 
Gaboto,  a  Venetian."  He  equipped  two  ships  in  Eng- 
land (he  having  been  taken  there  when  he  wa?  little), 
{do  tratava  dcsde  pcqueTio^  at  the  cost  of  King  Henry 
VII.,  who  desired  the  trade  in  spices  the  same  as  the 
king  of  Portugal.  Others  say  at  his  own  expense, 
and  that  he  promised  King  Henry  to  go  by  the  north 
to  Cathay,  and  to  bring  spices  there  in  less  time  than 
the  Portusfuese  from  the  south.  He  also  went  to  see 
if  there  was  any  land  in  the  Indies  on  which  a  colony 

'  De  Orbe  Novo  decades,     dec.  iii.     cap.  vi. 

'  The  birtliplace  of  Sebastian  Caboto's  is  not  definitely  known.  Richard 
Euen,  in  his  translation  of  the  Decadi-s  of  the  New  World  of  Peter  Martyr, 
says  that  Sebastiano  Caboto  told  him  that  he  was  born  at  Bristol,  En^^Iand  ;  and 
Gaspare  Contarini,  the  embassador  of  Charles  V.,  avers  that  he  informed  him 
that  Venice  was  his  birthplace.  It  is  conjecliired  that  he  was  born  about  the 
year  1476.  On  the  twentictli  of  October,  1512,  Sebastiano  Caboto  was  ap- 
pointed a  sea-captain  by  King  Ferdinand  of  Spain.  In  the  service  of  Charles 
v.,  he  sailed  en  the  filth  of  April,  1526,  to  search  for  a  navigable  strait  along 
t..e  coast  of  South  America.  On  this  voyage,  in  1527,  he  explored  the  Rio  de 
la  Pla.a.  In  July,  1530,  he  returned  to  Spain.  In  1548  he  went  to  Enghind, 
where  he  died  some  time  after  the  year  1557. —  Vide  The  Decades  of  the  Newe 
Worldc  or  West  India.  Translated  info  Englysshe  by  Richarde  Eden.  I,or<- 
doni,  1555.  f.  355.  Dispatch  of  Contarini  from  Valladolid,  December  31,  1522. 
MS.  Marciana  library,  Venice,  cod.  loig.  cart.  281-283.  Jean  et  Sebnstien 
Cabot.     Harrisse.    pp.  iog-133. 


w 


':tf 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


might  be  settled.  He  took  three  hundred  men  and 
steered  a  course  by  the  way  of  Iceland,  above  the 
cape  of  Labrador,  going  as  far  as  fifty-eight  degrees, 
though  he  says  much  farther,  stating  that  in  the  month 
of  July  it  was  so  extremely  cold  and  that  there  were  so 
many  icebergs  floating  in  the  sea,  that  he  did  not  dare 
to  go  farther.  *  *  *  So  Caboto,  having  inspected 
the  cold  and  strange  country,  changed  his  course  to 
the  west,  and  returning  again  to  the  Baccalaos  {los 
Baccalaos),he  followed  the  coast  as  far  as  thirty-eight 
degrees,  and  then  returned  to  England."  ^ 

Galvano,  the  Portuguese  historiat  "ays  that  when 
Sebastiano  Caboto  returned  from  d)c  aoith,  he  dimin- 
ished "the  altitude  till  became  to  thirty-eight  degrees, 
and  from  there  returned  to  England.  Others  will  have 
it  that  he  went  as  far  as  the  point  of  Florida,  which  is 
in  twenty-five  degrees." ' 

In  the  discourse  of  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  respect- 
ing "a  new  passage  to  Cataia,"  it  is  said:  "Further- 
more, Sebastian  Cabota  by  his  personall  experience, 
and  trauell,  hath  set  foorth,  and  described  this  passage, 
in  his  Charts,  whiche  are  yet  to  be  seene  in  the 
Queenes  Maiesties  priuie  Gallerie,  at  Whitf '  r.ll,  who 
was  sent  to  make  this  discoverie  by  King  i  .  >  the 
seauenth,  and  entered  the  same  fret:  afifirming,  .ir  he 
sailed  very  far  westward,  with  a  quater  of  the  isorth, 

*  Primera  y  segunda  parte  de  la  historia  general  de  las  Indias  con  todo  el 
descubrimiento  y  cosas  notables  que  ban  acaecido  dende  que  se  ganaron  ata  et 
afiodei55i.  [Por  Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomara.]  ^aragofa,  155^.  primera 
parte,  cap.  de  los  Bacallaos. 

Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomara  was  bom  at  Seville  in  15 10.  Hernando 
Cortes,  on  his  return  to  Spain  after  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  made  Gomora  his 
chaplain.  Gomara's  General  history  of  the  Indies  (La  historia  general  de  las 
Indias),  and  the  Conquest  of  Mexico  and  New  Spam  (Laconquista  Je  Mexico, 
y  de  la  Nueua  Espafla),  were  first  published  't  Saragossa,  i.(^arago9a),  Spam,  in 
1552.     Gomara  died  about  the  year  1560. 

•  Tratado,  que  compOs  o  nobre  &  notaue'  capitfio  Antonio  GaluSo. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


201 


on  the  north  side  of  Terra  de  Labrador'  the  eleuenth 
of  June,  vntil  he  came  to  the  septentrional  latitude 
of  67^2  degrees  and  finding  the  seas  still  open 
said  that  he  might,  and  would  have  gone  to  Cataia,  if 
the  mutinieof  the  Maister  and  Mariners  had  not  ben."' 

It  is  further  related  that  in  the  eighteenth  year  of 
the  reign  of  King  Henry  VII. ,3  three  Indians  were 
brought  to  England  from  the  islands  discovered  by 
Sebastiano  Caboto  :  "  Thys  yeare,  were  brought  vnto 
the  Kyng  three  men  taken  in  the  new  founde  Hands, 
by  Sebastian  Gabato,  before  named  in  Anno  1468, 
these  me*"!  were  clothed  in  Beastes  skinnes,  and  eate 
raw  Flesh,  but  spake  such  a  language  as  no  man  could 
vnderstand  them,  of  the  which  three  men,  two  of  them 
were  seene  in  the  Kings  Court  at  Westminster  two 
yeares  after,  clothed,  like  Englishmen,  and  could  not 
bee  discerned  from  Englishmen."  ♦ 

The  field  of  the  discoveries  of  Giovanni  Caboto, 
represented  on  the  map  made  by  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  in 
1 5oo,  and  on  the  one  of  1 544,  in  the  National  library,  in 
Paris,  was  apparently  the  Atlantic  coast  of  Cape  Breton 
Island  s  and  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  part  of  the  penin- 
sula designated  Prima  Vista,  (First  Seen,)  on  the  map 
of  1 544,  appears  to  be  the  same  as  that  which  on  La 
Cosa's  chart  is  denominated  Cavo  de  Inglaterra  (Cape 
of  England).    The  coast,  from  Cape  Breton  southwest- 

'  Terra  de  Lavrador,  Portuguese  :  Land  of  the  Farmer. 

•  A  Discovrse  of  a  Discouerie  for  a  new  Passage  to  Cataia.  Written  by 
Sir  Hvmftey  Gilbert,  Knight,  Imprinted  at  London  by  Henry  Middleton  for 
Richarde  Ihones.     1576.    sig.  D  iii. 

•  The  eighteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  He  iry  VIL  began  August  ^1, 
1502,  and  ended  August  21,  1503. 

•  Chronicle  of  England.     Stow.    p.  875. 

•  Cape  Breton  Island  lies  between  45°  27'  and  47°  41'  north  latitude.  Its 
greatest  length  i3  one  hundred  miles,  and  its  ^'reatest  breadth  eighty-five  miles. 
The  island  is  isolated  from  the  mainland  by  the  Strait  of  Canso,  which  is 
twenty-one  miles  long,  and  from  one  mile  to  one  and  a  half  in  width.  Cape 
North  is  about  sixty  miles  from  Cape  Ray,  Newfoundland. 


i 


202 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


ward  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  the  sea  discovered  for  the 
EngHsh  {mar  descubieria  por  inglese),'  is  delineated  by 
La  Cosa  with  approximate  accuracy. 

The  information  given  by  Peter  Martyr,  Gomara, 
and  Galvano  respecting  the  voyage  of  Sebastiano  Ca  • 
boto,  makes  the  fact  evident  that  the  latter  sailed  north  ■ 
we^twardly  a^ng  the  coast  of  Labrador  almost  to  the 
sixtieth  parallel,  where  he  was  so  far  to  the  west 
"  that  he  hr.d  the  island  of  Cuba  on  his  left  hand  "  and 
had  nearly  reached  the  longitude  of  the  island.  On 
his  return,  after  running  along  the  coast  of  Baccallaos, 
he  sailed  southward,  but  too  far  east  of  the  mainland 
to  see  its  coast,  and  reached  the  latitude  of  the  thirty- 
eighth  parallel ;  whence  he  steered  for  England.  If 
Sebastiano  Cabolo  had  explored  any  part  of  the  present 
coast  of  the  United  States  he  certainly  would  have 
imparted  some  information  respecting  its  physical 
features,  its  inhabitants,  its  flora  and  fauna,  to  the  in- 
quisitive chroniclers  of  his  age.  The  descriptions  of 
the  regions  explored  by  him  only  apply  to  the  more 
northern  parts  of  the  continent,  represented  on  the 
map  of  1 544,  to  which  territory  was  given  the  name 
La  Tierra  de  los  Bacallaos  (Land  of  Codfish). "  On 
the  planisphere  of  1 644,  the  following  statement  is  in- 

The  representation  of  the  coast  of  Cape  Breton  Island  and  of  Nova  Scotia 
as  trending  eastward  and  westward,  as  delineated  on  La  Cosa's  map,  evidently 
exemplifies  the  incorrect  conjecture  made  by  Giovanni  Caboto  respecting  the 
situation  of  the  first  •'•nd  seen  by  him.  Columbus's  delineation  of  the  island  of 
Cuba,  as  having  an  east  coast  that  extended  far  toward  the  north,  was  a  similar 
personal  assumption  which  afterward  was  found  to  be  false. 

'  ' '  These  regios  are  cauled  Terra  Florida  and  Regio  Baccalearum  or  Bac- 
challaos  of  the  which  you  may  reade  sumwhal  in  this  booke  in  the  vyage  of  the 
woorthy  Ortlde man  yet  lyuing  Sebastiane  Cabote,  in  the  vi.  booke  of  the  thyrde 
Decade.  But  Cabote  touched  only  in  the  north  corner  and  most  barbarous  parte 
hereof,  from  whense  he  was  repulsed  with  Ise  in  the  moneth  of  July.  Neuerthe 
lesse,  the  west  and  south  partes  of  these  regions  haue  sence  byn  better  searched 
by  other." — The  Decades  of  the  Newe  Worlde  or  West  India.  Eden.  The 
preface  to  the  reader,  ci. 


' 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


203 


scribed  concerning  the  country  discovered  by  Sebas- 
tiano  Caboto.  "  The  people  wear  clothes  made  cf  the 
skins  of  animals,  use  bows  and  arrows,  lances,  darts, 
knob-headed  clubs,  and  slings  in  their  wars.  The 
country  is  very  sterile.  In  it  are  many  white  bears, 
and  deer  as  large  as  horses,  and  many  other  animals 
of  the  same  class  ;  also  immense  numbers  of  fish  such 
as  soles,  salmon,  very  large  lings,  a  yard  in  length,  and 
many  other  kinds  of  fish,  but  the  most  numerous  are 
those  called  ba^allaos.  In  this  country  there  are  fal- 
cons as  black  as  ravens,  eagles,  partridges,  linnets,  and 
many  other  birds  of  different  kinds."* 

"  This  much  concerning  Sebastian©  Gabotes  dis- 
couerie  may  suffice  for  a  present  cast,"  says  Hakluyt, 
"  but  shortly,  God  willing,  shall  come  out  in  print  all 
his  owne  mappes  and  discourses,  drawne  and  written 
by  himselfe,  which  are  in  the  custodie  of  the  worship- 
full  master  Willia  Worthington,  one  ^  her  Maiesties 
Pensioners  who  (because  so  worthie  monumentes 
shoulde"  not  be  buried  in  perpetuall  dbliuion)  is  very 
willing  to  suffer  them  to  be  ouerseene  and  publ'shed  in 
as  good  order  as  may  bee,  to  the  encouragement  and 
benefite  of  our  Countriemen." '  The  English  collector 
also  remarks  tnat  "  the  map  of  Sebastiano  Caboto  cut 
by  Clement  Adams,  concerning  the  discovery  of  the 
the  West  Indies,     *     *     *     Qg-j  ^q  \jq  seene  in  her 

'"La  genie  delta  andan  uestidos  de  pieles  de  animales,  usan  en  sus  gttirras 
arcos,  y  flee  has,  lancas,  ydardos,  y  unas  forras  de  palo,  y  hondas.  Es  tierra  muy 
steril,  ay  en  ella  muchos  orsos  plancos,  y  cieruos  mtiy  grades  como  cauallos,  y 
otrasmudias animales, y semeiantemete ay pescadoinfinito,  sollos ;  salmoes  lengu. 
ados,  muy  grandes  de  uara  en  largo  y  otras  mttchas  d'mcrsidadcs  de  pcscados,  y  la 
mayor  mullitud  dellos  se  dizen  baccallaos,  y  asi  mismo  ay  en  la  dha  tierra  Hal- 
cones  prietos  como  cueruos  Aguillas,  Perdices,  Pardillas,  y  otras  muchas  aues 
de  diuersas  manera.'." — Tabla  primera.     No.  8. 

•  William  Worthington  was  joined  to  Sebastiano  Caboto  in  the  pension  r,iven 
by  Philip  and  Mary,  May  29,  1^5/.  Rymer.  vol.  xvi.  p.  466.  Divers  voyages 
touching  the  discouerie  of  America. 


'l 


■ml 


304 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


Maiesties  priuie  gallerie  at  Westminster,  and  in  many 
other  anchient  merchants  houses."  * 

Although  :hree  hundred  years  have  passed  since 
Hakluyt  promised  the  early  publication  of  Sebastiano 
Caboto's  maps  and  discourses,  they  are  still  covered 
with  the  pall  of  oblivion.' 

'  Navigations,  voypges,  and  disco7eries.  p.  6. 

*Richard  Hakluyt  was  born  at  Yatton,  England,  in  1553.  He  took  a 
remarkable  interest  in  geography  and  navigation,  and  for  a  time  held  a  pro- 
fessor's chair  of  these  branches  at  Oxford.  In  1582  his  "  Divers  voyages  touch- 
ing the  discouerie  of  America  and  Hands  adiacent  vnto  the  same,"  was  published 
in  London.  He  was  also  the  author  of  "  A  particular  discourse  concerningc  the 
greate  necessUieand  manifolde  comodyties  that  are  like  to  growe  to  this  Realme 
of  England  by  the  Westeme  discoueries  lately  attempted,  written  in  the  year 
1584."  In  1589,  he  published  his  celebrated  work,  entitled  :  The  principal 
navigations,  voiages,  and  discoveries  of  the  English  nation,  made  by  sea  or 
ouer  Land,  to  the  most  remote  and  farthest  distant  quarters  of  the  earth  at  any 
time  within  the  compasse  of  these  1500  yeeres.  Deuided  into  three  Seuerall 
pans,  according  to  the  positions  of  the  Regions  whereunto  they  were  directed. 
This  work  was  further  enlarged  in  1599  and  1600.  He  was  appointed  preben- 
dary of  Westminster  in  1605.  He  died  Octobr;  23,  1616,  and  was  buried  in 
Westminster  Abbey. 


':| 


•  I  if. 
ill 


CHAPTER  VII. 
1497-1521. 

While  the  Spanish  and  the  English  expeditions  had 
failed  to  find  the  attractive  shores  of  Cathay  by  sailing 
westwardly  across  the  Atlantic,  the  Portuguese  were 
more  fortunate  in  their  long-continued  attempts  to 
reach  the  dominions  of  the  Grand  Khan  by  sailing 
eastwardly.  Restricted  by  the  papal  decree  to  the  pros- 
ecution of  her  voyages  of  discovery  on  the  east  side 
of  the  line  of  demarkation,  Portugal  zealously  persisted 
in  seeking  along  the  coast  of  Africa  a  way  to  the 
Orient.  Vasco  da  Gama,  an  intrepid  navigator,  was 
placed  in  command  of  an  expedition,  and  sailed  from 
Lisbon,  in  March,  1497,  in  the  path  marked  out  by 
Bartolomeu  Dias,  in  1487.  When  Da  Gama  came  to 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  or  the  Stormy  Cape  (Cabo 
Tormentoso),  he  realized  that  the  windy  headland  was 
rightly  named.  The  hazardous  attempts  which  he  re- 
peatedly made  to  pass  the  stormy  promontory  so  im- 
pressed his  sailors  with  his  extreme  venturesomeness 
that  they  endeavored  to  persuade  him  to  turn  back. 
It  is  said  that  this  made  Da  Gamd  comport  "  himself 
very  angrily,  swearing  that  if  they  did  not  double  the 
cape,  he  would  stand  out  to  sea  again  as  many  times 
until  the  cape  was  doubled,  or  there  should  happen 
whatever  should  please  God."  Having  achieved  his 
bold  purpose,  on  the  twenty-second  of  November, 
1497,  Da  Gama  made  himself  famous  in  reaching  the 

aos 


I 


I 

Li 


;  i 


206 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


remote  coast  of  India,  jii  the  seventeenth  of  May, 
1498,  and  entered  the  harbor  of  Calicut,'  three  days 
afterward.  Returning  on  the  homeward  voyage,  he 
arrived  at  Lisbon,  about  the  beginning  of  September, 

1499. 

To  perfect  and  enjoy  the  privileges  of  her  inaugu- 
rated cotnmerce  with  India,  Portugal  immediately 
fitted  out  a  fleet  of  merchantmen  to  carry  her  commod- 
ities to  the  distant  country  over  the  sea-path  explored 
by  her  daring  navigators.  Pedro  Alvarez  Cabral  was 
given  command  of  thirteen  ships,  with  which  he  sailed  on 
the  ninth  of  March,  1 5oo,  with  instructions  to  hold  his 
course  out  at  sea  at  some  distance  from  the  coast  of 
Africa,  in  order  to  avoid  the  troublesome  currents  and 
delaying  winds  which  had  previously  deterred  mariners 
from  encountering  the  perils  of  the  unexplored  route 
near  the  main-land.  Cabral  proceeded  southward,  but 
near  the  Cape  Verd  Islands  lost  sight  of  one  of  his 
ships,  and  while  seeking  her  he  lost  his  course.  For- 
tunately, on  Wednesday  afternoon,  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  April,  he  descried  the  summit  of  a  round  and 
high  mountain  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Brazil,  which  he 
called  Monte  Pascoal.'  Perceiving  the  next  morning 
that  he  had  anchored  opposite  the  mouth  of  a  river, 
he  sent  Nicolao  Coelho  to  examine  it.  From  this  an- 
chorage he  sailed  in  search  of  a  safe  harbor,  and  on 
Saturday,  the  twenty-fifth  of  April,  found  the  roadstead 
which  he  called  Porto  Seguro,  which  was  in  seventeen 

'Cilicut  is  on  the  west  coast  of  India,  in  11°  15'  north  latitude,  and  75°  50' 
east  longitude. 

Paesi  nouamente  retrouati.  Et  Nouo  Monde  da  Alberico  Vesputio  Flor- 
entino  intitulato.  Stampato  in  Vicentia  cu  la  impressa  de  MgrO  Henrico 
Vicentino:  &  diligente  cura  &  industriade  Zamaria  suo  fiol  nel  mcccccvii.  a  di 
iii  de  Nouember.  lib.  ii.  cap.  li-lx.  The  three  voyages  of  Vasco  da  Gama. 
From  the  Lcndas  da  India  of  G.ispar  Corvea.  Translated  from  the  Portuguese 
by  Henry  E.  J.  Stanley.     London,  1879.     Hakluyt.  Soc.  pub. 

'  yiJe  Ruysch's  map  of  1508. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


207 


■ 


degrees  of  south  latitude,  according  to  the  observation 
made  there.  On  the  first  of  May  a  large  wooden  cross 
was  erected  to  which  was  affixed  the  declaration  of 
Cabral's  discovery  of  the  country  for  the  king  of  Portu- 
gal. Cabral,  having  dispatched  Caspar  de  Lemos  with 
a  small  vessel  to  Lisbon  with  the  report  of  his  dis- 
covery, set  sail,  on  the  third  of  May,  for  India.  Cabral 
called  the  discovered  country  Terra  de  Vera  Cruz 
(Land  of  the  True  Cross),  which  name  was  shortly 
afterward  changed  to  Terra  de  Santa  Cruz  (Land 
of  the  Holy  Cross),  and  subsequendy  Brazil  was 
substituted  for  it.' 

In  the  year  i5oo  the  Portuguese  sailed  in  a  differ- 
ent direction  to  seek  a  short  route  to  Cathay.  The 
Portuguese  historian,  Galvano  refers  to  the  expedition, 
saying  :  "  In  this  same  year  i5oo  it  is  said  that  Caspar 
Cortereal'  begged  permission  of  King  Emmanuel  to 
discover  the  New  Land  (Terra  Nova).  He  departed 
from  the  island  Terceira  with  lwo  ships  equipped 
at  his  own  expense,  and  he  sailed  to  that  region  which 
is  in  the  north  in  fifty  degrees  of  latitude,  which  is  a 
land  now  called  after  his  name.  He  returned  home 
in  safety  to  the  city  of  Lisbon.  Sailing  a  second 
time  on  this  voyage  the  ship  was  lost  in  which  he 
went,  and  the  other  vessel  came  back  to  Portugal. 
His  brother  Miguel  went  to  seek  him  with  three 
ships  at  his  own  cost,  and  when  they  came  to  that 
coast,  and  found  so  many  entrances  of  rivers  and 
havens,  each  ship  entered  a  different  river,  with  this 
regulation  and  command,  that  they  all  three  should 
meet  again  on  the  twentieth  of  August.     The  other 

•  Paesi  Nouamente  retrouati.  lib.  iii.  cap.  IxUlxxxiiii,  Raccolt*  di  navi- 
galioni  e  viaggi.  Ramusio,  vol.  i.  fol.  132-139.  Coleccion  de  los  viages  y 
descubrimientos.     Navarrete.     torn.  iii.     pp.  94,  loi. 

'  Caspar  Cortereal  was  the  son  of  JoJo  Vaz  Cortereal,  who,  it  is  said,  had 
previously  made  a  voyage  to  the  Land  of  Bacalhao  (Terra  do  Bacalhao). 


m 


m 


208 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


i 

"4 

i 

■ 

1 

1 

, 

two  ships  did  as  commanded,  and  they,  seeing  tliat 
Miguel  Cortereal  came  not  on  the  appointed  day  nor 
afterward  in  a  certain  time,  returned  to  this  realm  and 
never  heard  any  thing  more  concerning  him.  *  *  * 
But  that  country  is  called  Terra  dos  Cortereals  unto 
this  day." ' 

Damiao  de  G6es,  the  Portuguese  historian,  says 
Cortereal,  called  this  region  Terra  Verde  (Greenland), 
on  account  of  its  remarkable  verdure,  and  the  vast 
forests  stretching  all  along  the  coast. " 

Ramusio,  speaking  of  the  exploration  of  the  coast 
of  North  America  says  :  "  In  the  part  of  the  New 
World,  which  runs  toward  the  north  and  northwest, 
opposite  our  habitable  part  of  Europe,  many  captains 
have  navigated,  and  the  first  (by  that  which  one 
knows),  was  Caspar  Cortereale,  a  Portuguese,  who,  in 
i5oo,  went  with  Iwo  caravels  intending  to  find  some 
strait  of  the  sea  whence  by  a  shorter  voyage  than  that 
taken  around  Africa  he  would  be  able  to  go  to  the 
Spice  Islands.  He  sailed  so  far  forward  that  he  came 
to  a  place  where  it  was  extremely  cold,  and  he  found, 
in  the  latitude  of  sixty  degrees,  a  river  closed  with 
snow,  to  which  he  gave  the  name,  calling  it  Rio 
Nevado.  But  he  had  not  sufficient  courage  to  pais 
much  beyond  it.  The  whole  of  this  coast,  which  runs 
two  hundred  leagues  from  Rio  Nevado  as  far  as  to  the 
port  of  Malvas,  in  fifty-six  degrees  he  saw  lull  of 
people  and  along  it  many  dwellings."  ^ 

The  earliest  account  of  Caspar  Cortereals  voyage 
of  i5oi,  from  which  he  never  returned,  is  contained  in 

'  Tratado,  que  compOs  o-nobie  &  notauel  capitio  Antonio  GaluSo. 

*"  JIttma  terra  que por sermtiilo  fresca  e  de  grandes  aruoredos  como  o  sao 
todas  as  que  jazcm  pera  aquella  banda  Ihe  pos  name  t^rra  verde." — Chronica  do 
lelicissimo  rei  Dom  Emanuel.     Lisboa,  1566.     tomo  i.     fol.  65. 

*  Raccolta  di  navigation!  e  viaggi.    Rainusio.    vol.  iii.    fol.  346. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


209 


a  letter  written  by  Pietro  Pasqualigo,  the  Venetian 
ambassador  at  the  court  of  Portugal,  to  his  brothers 
in  Italy,  dated  October  19,  i5oi.  The  writer  says  : 
"On  the  eighth  of  the  present  month,  one  of  the  two 
caravels  which  his  most  serene  majesty  sent  the  past 
year  under  the  command  of  Caspar  Corterat,  arrived 
here,  and  reports  the  finding  of  a  country  distant  west 
and  northwest,  two  thousand  miles,  heretofore  quite 
unknown. 

"  They  ran  along  the  coast  between  six  hundred 
and  seven  hundred  miles  without  arriving  at  its  termi- 
nation, on  which  account  they  ccncluded  it  to  be  the 
same  continent  that  is  connected  with  another  land 
which  was  discovered  last  year  in  the  north,  but  which 
the  caravel  could  not  reach  on  account  of  the  ice  and 
the  vast  quantity  of  snow,  and  they  are  confirmed  in 
this  belief  by  the  multitude  of  great  rivers  they  found, 
which  certainly  could  not  proceed  (rom  an  island.  They 
report  that  this  land  is  thickly  peopled,  and  that  the 
houses  are  built  of  very  long  beams  of  timber,  and  cov- 
ered with  the  skins  of  fishes.  They  have  brought 
hither  along  with  them  seven  of  the  inhabitants,  includ- 
ing men,  women,  and  children  ;  and  in  the  other 
caravel,  which  is  looked  for  every  hour,  they  are  bring- 
ing fifty  more.  These  people,  in  color,  figure,  stature, 
and  expression,  greatly  resemble  gypsies.  They  are 
clothed  with  the  skins  of  different  beasts,  but  chiefly  of 
the  otter,  wearing  the  hair  outside  in  summer,  and  next 
to  the  skin  in  winter.  These  skins,  too,  are  not  sewed 
together,  nor  shaped  to  the  body  in  any  fashion,  but 
wrapped  around  the  arms  and  shoulders  as  they  were 
taken  from  the  animals.  *  *  *  q„  j]^|g  account 
their  appearance  is  wholly  barbarous  ;  yet  they  are 
very  sensible  to  shame,  gentle  in  their  manners,  and 


k 


310 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


IN 


,\ 


better  made  in  their  arms,  legs,  and  shoulders  than  can 
be  expressed.  Their  faces  are  punctured  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  Indians  ;  some  have  six  marks,  some 
eight,  some  fewer.  They  use  a  language  of  their  own, 
but  it  is  understood  by  no  one.  Moreover,  I  believe 
that  every  possible  language  has  been  addressed  to 
them.  They  have  no  iron  in  their  country,  but  manu- 
facture knives  out  of  certain  kinds  of  stones,  with  which 
they  point  their  arrows. 

"  They  have  also  brought  from  this  island  a  piece 
of  a  broken  sword  inlaid  with  gold,  which  we  can  pro- 
nounce undoubtedly  to  have  been  made  in  Italy;  and 
one  of  the  children  had  in  his  ears  two  pieces  {todini) 
of  silver,  which  likewise  appear  to  have  been  made  in 
Venice,  a  circumstance  inducir  ne  to  believe  that 
their  country  belongs  to  the  ..tinent,  since  ^'t  is 
evident  that  if  it  were  an  island  wher^  any  vessel 
had  touched  before  this  time  we  should  have  heard 
of  it.' 

"  They  have  plenty  of  salmon,  herring,  cod,  and 
other  fish  of  the  same  kind.  They  have  an  abun- 
dance of  timber,  principally  pine,  fitted  for  masts  and 
yards  of  ships,  on  which  account  his  serene  majesty 
anticipates  the  greatest  profit  from  this  country,  both 
in  providing  timber  for  ships,  of  which  he,  at  present, 
stands  in  great  need,  and  from  the  men  that  inhabit  it, 
who  appear  admirably  fitted  to  endure  labor,  and  will 
probably  be  the  best  slaves  which  have  been  found  up 
to  this  time. 

"  This  arrival  appeared  to  me  to  be  an  event 
of  which  it  was  right  to  inform  you  ;  and  if  on 
the   arrival   of   the   other  caravel  I  receive  any  ad- 

'  It  seems  that  the  writer  was  ignorant  of  the  fields  of  the  discoveries  of  the 
English  in  1497  and  1498,  Giovanni  Caboto,  the  Venetian  navigator,  no  doubt 
had  made  the  presents  found  in  the  possession  of  the  inhabitants. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


211 


tj 


(Iltional  information,  it  shall  be  transmitted  to  you  in 
like  manner."  * 

Caspar  Cortereal,  who  was  expected  to  return  to 
Lisbon  in  the  second  caravel,  never  reached  Porturral. 
Miguel,  his  brother,  sailed  from  Lisbon  in  May  i5o2, 
with  three  ships,  to  search  for  Caspar  and  the  missing 
vessel,  but  he  was  never  heard  of  again,  and  it  was 
conjectured  that  both  of  the  brothers  had  been  slain 
by  the  savages  from  whom  they  had  taken  so  many 
of  their  relatives  to  serve  as  slaves  in  Portugal. 

No  little  enthusiasm  was  created  at  the  court  of 
Portugal  by  Cabral's  report  of  the  discovery  of  the 
Land  of  the  True  Cross.  King  Emmanuel  at  once 
ordered  '  ree  vessels  to  be  equipped  to  sail  to  the 
new  country.  Having  heard  of  the  voyaj^es  made 
by  Amerigo  Vespucci  to  the  Land  of  Pearls  (Terra 
delle  Perle),  he  wrote  to  Vespucci  in  Seville,  and  solic- 
ited him  to  enter  his  service.  The  illness  of  the  ex- 
plorer did  not  then  permit  him  to  accept  the  tempting 
offer  of  the  king  of  Portugal.  However,  when  he 
was  afterward  visited  by  the  king's  ambassador,  Giuli- 
ano  di  Bartolomeo  del  Ciocondo,  Vespucci  consented 
to  go  to  Lisbon  and  to  be  commissioned  by  King 
Emmanuel  to  accompany  the  fleet  that,  was  prepared 
to  sail  to  Terra  de  Vera  Cruz.  His  departure  from 
Spain,  he  says,  was  a  matter  of  regret  to  all  who  knew 
him,  because  there  he  was  honored,  rmd  there  the  king 
had  a  right  to  claim  his  services."  Narrating  the  inci- 
dents of  his  third  voyage  to  the  New  World,  Vespucci 
writes : 

'  Paesi  nouamente  retrouati.  lib.  vi.  cap.  cxxvi. —  Vide  Letter  of  Alberto 
Cantino.  Archives  of  Modena.  Cancelleria  ducale.  Dispac^i  dalla  Spagna. 
Jean  et  Sebastian  Cabot.     Harrisse.     pp.  262-264. 

•  "  Che  fu  tenuta  a  male  la  mia  uenuta  da  qtianti  miconosceuano  :  perche 
miparii  di  Castiglia,  doue  mi  era  facto  honored  6*  1/  re  miteneua  i'  buona  pos- 
sessione." 


'I 


212 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


•    i. 


I  n 


*v 


M' 


"  We  departed  from  the  port  of  Lisbon,  three  ships 
in  company,  on  the  tenth  of  May,  i5oi,  and  took  our 
course  directly  for  the  Grand  Canary  Islands.  *  *  * 
From  there  we  sailed  to  the  coast  of  Ethiopia,  and  ar- 
rived at  the  port  called  Beseneghe,  in  the  torrid  zone. 

*  *  *  We  left  this  port  of  Ethiopia  and  steered  to 
the  southwest.  *  *  *  j^j  sixty-seven  days  we 
reached  land  lying  seven  hundred  leagues  southwest 
of  that  port.  *  *  *  'pj^g  season  was  very  unfavor- 
able for  the  voyage,  particularly  when  we  approached 
the  equator,  where,  in  the  month  of  June,  it  is  winter. 

*  *  *  It  pleased  God,  however,  to  show  us  a  new 
country  on  the  seventeenth  of  August.  Then  we 
anchored  at  the  distance  of  a  half  league  from  the 
coast.  We  go<"  out  our  boats  and  went  on  land  to  see 
if  the  country  were  inhabited,  and  if  it  were,  by  what 
class  of  people.  We  found  that  it  was  inhabited  by  a 
people    of   a    lower   condition   than  that   of   beasts. 

*  *  *  We  took  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  his 
majesty.     It  lies  five  degrees  south  of  the  equator. 

*  *  *  We  sailed  in  a  southeasterly  direction,  on  a 
line  parallel  with  the  coast,  making  many  landings,  but 
never  discovering  any  natives  who  could  converse 
with  us.  Running  on  this  course,  we  found  the  land 
made  a  turn  to  the  southwest.  As  soon  as  we  doubled 
the  cape,  which  we  named  the  Cape  of  St.  Augustine, 
we  began  to  sail  to  the  southwest.  *  *  *  'pj^jg 
cape  is  eight  degrees  south  of  the  equator.'  * 

While  the  explorers  were  sailing  along  the  east 
coast  of  Brazil,  they  arrived  at  a  place  where  they 
anchored  five  days.  "  Here  "  says  Vespucci,  "  we 
found  carmine  stems  very  large  and  green,  and  some 
already   dry   on   the   tops    of    the    trees.      We   left 


i  t'j 


'j  q'sto  cauo  8.  gradi  fuori  della  linea  equinoctiaU  uerso  hustro." 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


213 


^11 


this  port,  always  sailing  to  the  southwest  in  sight 
of  the  land,  making  many  anchorages  and  treating 
with  innumerable  people.  We  went  so  far  toward  the 
south  that  we  were  beyond  the  tropic  of  Capricorn 
where  the  south  pole  is  elevated  thirty-two  degrees 
above  the  horizon.  We  had  entirely  lost  sight  of  the 
Little  Bear,  and  the  Great  Bear  was  very  low,  almost  on 
the  verge  of  the  horizon.'  We  steered  by  the  stars  of 
the  south  pole,  which  are  many,  and  much  larger  and 
brighter  than  those  of  our  pole,  I  traced  the  figures 
of  the  greater  part  of  them,  particularly  those  of  the 
first  and  greater  magnitude,  giving  an  explanation 
of  the  circuits  which  they  made  around  the  pole, 
together  with  a  description  of  their  diameters  and 
semi  diameters,  as  may  be  seen  in  my  four  journeys. 
We  ran  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  along 
this  coast.  *  *  *  \Yg  saw  a  great  number  of  red- 
wood (verzino)  and  cassia  trees,  and  of  those  which 
produce  myrrh.  *  *  *  ^g  found  ourselves  in 
such  a  high  southern  latitude,  that  the  south  pole 
was  elevated  above  the  horizon  fifty-two  degrees. 
*  *  ^  The  cold  [on  the  seventh  of  April,  i5o2J) 
was  so  severe  that  no  one  in  the  fleet  could  endure 
it.  *  *  *  We  agreed  that  the  superior  captain' 
should  make  signals  for  the  fleet  to  turn  about, 
and  that  we  should  depart  from  this  land  and  steer 
our  course  in  the  direction  of  Portugal." 

After  touching  at  the  port  of  Sierra  Leone, 
an>.    at    the     Azores,    the     explorers    reached    the 

'  "  Tanto  fumo  uerso  laustro,  cJugia  stauamo  fuora  del  tropica  di  capricorno  : 
a  donde  el  polo  dil  Meridione  salzaua  sopra  lo  Orizonte  32.  gradi :  et  di  gia 
kauamo  perduio  del  tucto  lorsa  minore,  (Sr*  la  maggiore  chi  staua  molto  bassa, 
<Sr'  qitasi  cisimonstmua  alfine  delle  orizonte." 

•  Andr^  Gon9alves,  it  is  said,  had  command  of  the  fleet. —  Vide  O  Brazil 
no  seculo  xvi.  Estudos  de  Capistrano  de  Abreu.  Rio  de  Janeiro,  1880.  pp. 
9-23. 


214 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


port  of  Lisbon   on  the  seventh  day  of  September, 
i5o2/ 

Vespucci  was  again  sent  by  the  king  of  Portugal, 
in  1 503,  with  a  fleet  of  six  ships  commanded  by  Gcn- 
9alo  Coelho,  to  disco\  er  an  island  "  toward  the  east 
called  Melaccha,  which  we  know  lies  in  the  sea,"  says 
Vespucci,  •'  thirty-three  degrees  from  the  south  pole." 
Departing  from  the  port  of  Lisbon  on  the  tenth  of 
May,  the  vessels  stood  for  the  Cape  Verd  Islands. 
After  going  to  Sierra  Leone  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
the  fleet  sailed  toward  the  southwest.  On  this  course 
one  of  the  vessels  struck  on  a  rock,  and  was  aban- 
doned by  the  crew.  On  the  east  coast  of  Brazil,  the 
fleet  entered  the  harbor  which  the  Portuguese  called 
the  Bay  of  All  Saints  (Bahia  de  todos  os  Santos).  At 
a  harbor  tv^ro  hundred  and  sixty  leagues  farther  south, 
or  in  eighteen  degrees  south  latitude,  a  fortress  was 
erected,  and  gan'soned  with  twenty-foui  men.  The 
fleet  then  sailed  for  Portugal,  and  entered  the  port  of 
Lisbon  on  the  eighceenth  of  June,  i5o4." 

The  opinion  of  Columbus  that  a  strait  could  be 
found  to  the  south  or  southwest  of  Cuba  through  which 
ships  might  sail  to  Cathay,  induced  Vicente  Yanez  Pin- 
zon  and  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis  in  i5o6  to  search  along  the 
coast  bordering  the  Bay  of  Honduras  for  a  navigable 
passage  to  the  Indian  Ocean .'  They  held  the  same 
course  as  the  admiral,  saysHerrera,  "  and  sailing  as  far 
as  the  islands  Guanajos  steered  westward  as  far  as 
Golfo  Dulce,  but  did  not  see  it,  for  it  lies  hid.  However, 
they  observed  the  inlet  the  sea  makes  between  the 
land  that  forms  the   bay  and  the  coast  of  lucatan. 

'  Lettera  di  Amerigo  Vespucci.  Terzo  viaggio. —  Ficfe  Tratado,  que  com- 
pds  o  nobre  &  notauel  CapitZlo  Antonio  Galudo, 

•  Lettera  di  Amt'igo  Vespucci.  Quarto  viaggio. —  Vidn  Chronica  do  felicis- 
simo  rei  Dom  Emanuel.     Damiflo  de  Goes,     tomo  i.     fol.  65. 

*  Ferdinand  Columbus  gives  1508  as  the  date  of  the  voyage. 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


215 


*  ■*  *  From  where  they  descried  the  Sierras  of 
Caria,  they  steered  northward  and  discovered  a  great 
part  of  the  main-land  of  lucatan."  ' 

The  unique  and  peculiarly  shaped  map  made  by  the 
German  cartographer,  Johann  Ruysch,  contained  in  the 
edition  of  Claudius  Ptolemy's  geography,  printed  at 
Rome,  in  1 5o8,'  is  the  earliest  engraved  chart  on  which 
appear  the  fields  of  discovery,  in  the  western  hemi- 
sphere, entered  by  Columbus,  Cabot,  Cortereal,  Cabral, 
Vespucci,  and  other  early  explorers  of  the  coast  of  the 
new  continent. 

Geographically  ignorant  of  the  longitude  of  the  dis- 
covered part  of  North  America,  then  called  the  New 
Land  (Terra  Nova),  Ruysch  represents  it  as  if  it  were 
a  part  of  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia,  between  the  two 
hundred  and  eightieth  and  the  three  hundredth  meridi- 
ans. Better  informed  respecting  its  latitude,  he  de- 
lineates it  as  extending  from  the  forty-fifth  to  the  fifty- 
fifth  parallel  of  north  latitude.^     Immediately  north  of 

'  Historia  i  neral  de  los  hechos  de  los  Castellanos  en  las  islas  tierra  firme 
del  mar  oceano  escrita  por  Antonio  de  Herrera.  Madrid,  1601-1615.  dec.  i, 
lib,  vi.  cap.  xvii.  Historia  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colombo,  cap.  Ixxxix.  Colec- 
cion  de  los  viages  y  descubrimientos.     Navarrete.     torn.  iii.     p.  46. 

Antonio  de  Ilerrera  y  Tordesillas  was  born  in  Cuellar,  in  Spain,  in  1549, 
and  died  in  1625.  His  General  history  of  tlie  acts  of  the  Spaniards  on  the 
islands  and  continent  of  the  ocean-sea,  is  divided  into  eight  decades,  from 
1492  to  1554,  contained  in  four  volumes,  the  first  one  of  which  was  published 
in  Madrid,  in  .t6oi. 

'Claudius  Piolemy.  In  hoc  opera  haec  continentvr  geographiae  CI. 
Ptolemixi  a  plurima  uiris  utriusque  linguae  doctiss.  eniedata  :  &  cu  archetypo 
graeco  ab  ipsis  collata.  Schemata  cu  demostrationibus  suis  correcta  a  Marco 
Bencuentauo  monacho  coelestino,  &  loanne  Cotta  Veronensis  iuris  mathematicis 
consultissimis  *  *  *  Noua  &  universalior  orbis  cogniti  tabula  loa 
Ruysch   Germane  elaborata.     *    *    *     Anno  Virginei  Partvs  Mnviii.  Rome. 

The  map  is  twenty-two  by  sixteen  inches.  The  copy  of  one  half  of  the  I'an- 
shaped  map  in  the  cover-pocket  is  a  reduced  fac-siniile  of  the  original  section. 

•The  names  inscribed  along  the  coast  of  Terra  Nova  are:  C.  Glaciato 
(Ice  cape),  Baia  de  Rockas  (Bay  of  Rocks),  R.  Grado,  In.  Biccalavras  (Cod- 
fish island),  C.  de  Portogesi  (Cape  of  the  Portuguese),  Barbatos  In.,  and 
Biggetv  In. 


! 


!ii 


■  1 


2l6 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


the  New  Land  is  the  Greenland  Sea  (Sinus  Grvenlan- 
tevs),  and  beycnd  it,  Greenland  (Grvenlant),  discovered 
by  the  Northmen.  South  of  the  New  Land,  between 
the  fortieth  and  twenty-fifth  parallels  is  the  unnamed 
and  falsely  represented  island  of  Cuba,  on  the  west  side 
of  which  is  a  scroll  bearing  the  information  :  "As  far 
as  this  the  ships  of  Ferdinand,  king  of  Spain,  have 
come."  South  of  this  ishnd  and  that  of  Espanola 
(Spagnola)  is  the  discovered  part  of  South  America, 
then  denominated  the  Land  of  the  Holy  Cross  or  the 
New  World  (Terra  Sancti  Crucis  sive  Mundus  Novus). 
The  inscription  on  the  represented  territory  embraces 
the  following  information  :  "  At  different  places  this 
region  is  inhabited,  and  it  is  supposed  by  many  to  be 
another  world.  Women  and  men  appear  either  entirely 
naked  or  clad  with  interwoven  leaves  and  the  feathers 
of  birds  of  various  colors.  They  live  together  in  com- 
mon without  any  religion  or  king.  They  are  continu- 
ally at  war  among  themselves.  They  eat  the  human 
flesh  of  captives.  They  exercise  so  much  in  the  salu^ 
brious  air  that  they  live  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years.  They  are  rarely  sick,  and  then  they  cure 
themselves  solely  with  the  roots  of  plants.  Here  lions 
are  born,  and  serpents  and  other  terrible  monsters 
found  in  the  forests.  Very  large  quantities  of  pearls  and 
gold  are  in  the  mountains  and  rivers.  From  here 
Brasil-wood,  or  verzini,  and  cassia  are  carried  away  by 
the  Portuguese."  Below  this  inscription  is  another 
which  contains  the  following  statement :  "  Portuguese 
navigators  have  inspected  this  part  of  this  land,  and 
have  sailed  as  far  as:  the  fiftieth  degree  of  south  latitude 
without  seeing  the  southern  limit  of  it." 

On  the  scroll  on  the  western  part  of  the  delineated 
territory   of  South  America   this  information  is  in- 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


217 


in- 


scribed :  "  As  far  as  this  Spanish  navigators  have 
come,  and  they  have  called  this  land,  on  account 
of  its  greatness,  the  New  World.  Inasmuch  as  they 
have  not  wholly  explored  it  nor  surveyed  it  farther 
than  the  present  termination,  it  must  remain  thus  im- 
perfectly delineated  until  it  is  known  in  what  direction 
it  extends."  "        ^ 

On  the  upper  part  of  the  right  margin  of  the  map 
the  following  fiction  respecting  the  configuration  of  the 
earth  at  the  north  pole  is  inscribed.  "  It  is  said  in 
the  book  concerning  the  fortunate  discovery'  that  at 
the  arctic  pole  there  is  a  high  magnetic  rock,  thirty- 
three  German  miles  in  circumference.  A  surging  sea 
surrounds  this  rock,  as  if  the  water  were  discharged 
downward  from  a  vase  through  an  opening,.  Around 
it  are  islands,  two  of  which  are  inhabited." 

North  of  Greenland  is  another  inscription  contain- 
ing a  popular  fiction  of  the  dangers  besetting  ships  in 
the  Arctic  Ocean  :  "  Here  a  surging  sea  begins  ;  here 
the  compasses  of  a  ship  do  not  hold,  nor  are  ships 
which  have  iron  about  them  able  to  turn  about." 
Among  the  perils  of  the  Greenland  Sea  were  the  de- 
ceptions practised  by  the  savages  inhabiting  the  islands 
in  it :  "  It  is  said  that  those  who  came  formerly  in 
ships  among  these  islands  for  fish  and  other  food  were 
so  deceived  by  the  demons  that  they  could  not  go  on 
land  without  danger." 

The  four  voyages  of  Amerigo  Vespucci  had  ac- 
quainted him  with  so  many  unknown  peoples  and 
places  in  the  New  World  that  he  was  induced  by  his 
own  inclinadons  and  the  suggestions  of  his  friends  to 
write  an  account  of  the  explorations  of  the  different 

'  The  voyage  of  Nicholas  de  Lynna,  a  Franciscan  monk,  to  the  regions 
near  the  north  pole. —  VUe  Hakluyt.  vol.  i.  pp.  lai,  I3J.  Insciipiioa  on 
Mercator's  map  of  the  world  of  1569. 


. 


prr 


: 


It  { 


?v 


,    : 


218 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


expeditions  with  which  he  had  been  sent  by  the 
sovereigns  of  Spain  and  Portugal.  In  his  letter,  dated 
in  Lisbon,  the  fourth  of  September,  i5o4,'  he  speaks 
of  the  intended  publication  of  his  voyages  in  a  volume 
in  the  style  of  a  geography  (un  uolume  in  stilo  geo- 
grafid),  and  calls  the  composition  {zibaldone),  "  Le 
Quattro  Giornate  "  (The  Four  Journeys). 

The  earliest  known  work  containing  an  account  of 
Vespucci's  four  voyages  is  entitled  "  Cosmographiae 
introductio"  (Introduction  to  geography),  printed  in 
St.  Di^,  in  Lorraine,  on  the  twenty -sixth  of  April, 
i5o7.'  This  rare  Latin  book  was  the  vork  of  a 
German  scholar  named  Martin  Waldsee-miiller,  a  pro- 
fessor of  geography  in  the  gymnasium  in  St.  Die,' 
who  having  translated  his  surname  into  Hylacomylus  ♦ 
affixed  this  Greek  pseudonym  to  his  writings.  On 
the  reverse  page  of  the  fifteenth  leaf  of  Hylacomy- 
lus's  Introduction  to  geography  is  the  notable  sugges- 
tion that  the  land  in  the  western  hemisphere  visited 
by  Amerigo  Vespucci  should  be  called  Amerige 
or  America.  The  enthusiastic  geographer,  having 
described  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  remarks  : 

"And  as  now  these  parts  have  been  more  widely 
surveyed,  and  another  four '.  part  has  been  found  by 

'Lettera  di  Amergo  Vespucci  deile  isole  nuoumente  trouate  in  quattro 
suoi  viaggi. —  Vide  Amerigo  Vespucci.  Varnhagen.  pp.  33-64.  Bibliotheca 
Americana  vetustissima.     [Harrisse.]    pp.  149,  150. 

•Cosmographiae  introdvctio  cvm  qvibvsdam  geometriae  ac  astronomiae 
principiis  ad  earn  rem  necessariis.  Insuper  quatuor  Americi  Vespuccij  naui- 
gationes  Vniversalis  cbosmographiae  descriptio  tam  in  solido  qzplano  eis  etiam 
insertis  quae  Ptliolomeo  ignota  a  nuperis  reperta  sunt.  ♦  »  *  Finitu.  vij. 
kl'  Maij.     Anno  supra  sesqui  Millesium.  vij. 

•Baron  von  Humboldt  furnishes  the  information  that  Martin  Waldsee- 
mtSller  of  Freiburg,  diocese  of  Constantius,  was  a  student  under  the  rectorship 
of  Conrad  Knoll  of  Gillningen,  the  seventh  of  December,  1490,  and  had  estab- 
lished a  bookstore  at  St.  Di^,  shortly  before  1507. — Examen  critique  de  I'  his- 
toire  de  la  geographic  du  nouveau  continent.    Humboldt,   vol.  iv.    pp.  104-106. 

*  Hylacomylus,  the  forest-lake  miller. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


219 


Americus  Vesputius  (as  will  be  perceived  by  what  fol- 
lows), I  cap  not  see  why  any  one  can  justly  forbid 
the  calling  of  this  part  Amerige  or  America,  that  is, 
the  land  of  Americus,  from  Americus,  the  discoverer, 
an  intelligent  man,  as  Europe  and  Asia  have  taken 
their  names  from  women."'         * 

The  name  America  in  a  short  time  became  a 
popular  designation  for  the  continent  in  the  western 
hemisphere." 

'  "  Nuc  vo  &'  he  partes  sunt  latius  lustratae  ^  alia  quarta  pars  per  Amer- 
ica Vcsputiu  (vt  in  sequentibus  audietur)  in  uenta  est  qua  tton  video  cur  quis 
iuie  veiet  ab  Amtrico  inuentore  sagacis  ingenij  viro  Amerigen  quasi  Americi 
terra  siue  Americam  dicenda  :  cH  &'  Europa  &'  Asia  a  mulieribus  sua  sortita 
sint  nomina." 

Herodotus,  speaking  of  the  designations  of  the  other  divisions  of  the  earth, 
says :  "  Nor  can  I  conjecture  for  what  reason  these  different  names  have  been 
given  to  the  earth,  which  is  one,  and  those  derived  from  the  names  of  women. 
*  *  *  Nor  can  I  learn  the  names  of  those  who  made  this  division,  nor 
whence  they  derived  the  appel'ations.  Libya  [Africa]  is  said  by  most  of  the 
Greeks  to  take  its  name  from  a  native  woman  of  the  name  of  Libya  ;  and  Asia, 
from  the  wife  of  Prometheus.  But  the  Lydians  claim  this  name,  saying  that 
Asia  was  called  after  Asius,  son  of  Cotys,  son  of  Mapes,  and  not  after  Asia, 
the  wife  of  Prometheus  ;  from  whom  also  a  tribe  of  Sardis  is  called  the 
As;an  tribe.  Whether  Europe,  then,  is  surrounded  by  water  is  known  by  no 
man,  nor  is  it  clear  whence  it  received  this  name,  nor  who  gave  it,  unless  we 
will  say  that  the  region  received  the  name  from  the  Tyrian  Europa,  and  that  it 
was  previously  without  a  name  like  other  regions,  for  she  evidently  belonged  to 
Asia,  and  never  came  into  the  country  which  is  now  called  Europe  by  the 
Grecians,  and  only  passed  from  Phoenicia  to  Crete,  and  from  Crete  to  Lycia." 
— Herodotus  :  Melpomene  xlv. 

'  Until  recently  the  map  made  by  Petrus  Apianus  (Peter  Benewitz),  in  the 
Polyhistor  of  C.  Julius  Solinus,  printed  in  Vienna,  in  1520,  was  supposed  to  be 
the  earliest  on  which  the  name  of  America  was  engraved.  However,  the  dis- 
covery, in  France,  in  1S80,  of  a  copy  of  the  "  Cosmographiae  introductio," 
printed  by  Jean  de  la  Place,  without  a  title  or  colophon-date,  containing  a  map 
of  the  world,  supposed  to  have  been  made  by  Ludovicus  Boulenger,  between  the 
years  I5i4and  1520,  disentitled  the  former  to  its  celebrity.  The  map  is  divided 
into  twelve  sections  or  gores  which  can  be  cut  and  pasted  on  a  globe.  The 
represented  territory  of  North  and  South  America  is  shown  in  two  divisions, 
separated  by  a  large  body  of  water,  between  the  tenth  and  twentieth  parallels 
of  north  latitude.  The  word  "  Nova  "  appears  on  the  northern  division  ;  and 
on  the  southern,  "  America  noviter  reperta."  A  similar  inscription  it  is  said  is 
on  a  cartographic  representation. of  the  world,  in  Vienna,  made  in  1509 :  "  Une 
semblable  appellation  se  lit  sur  la  projection,  ^galement  imprimde  en  fuseaux,  d" 


'*.il 


''      5 


220 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


Although  Vespucci  repeatedly  mentions  in  his 
letter  that  he  held  subordinate  positions  under  the 
superior  captains  commanding  the  different  fleets  with 
whic-i  he  had  sailed  to  the  New  World,  twenty-one 
years  after  his  death  he  was  unjustly  accused  by 
Johannes  Schoner,  in  a  little  geographical  work,  as 
having  contrived  to  have  the  continent  called  by  his 
name.'  Schoner's  imputation  was  eviaently  caused 
by  a  spirit  of  ill-will,  for  he  attempted,  it  would  seem, 
to  lessen  the  importance  of  the  discoveries  made  by 
Spain  and  Portugal,  by  placing  on  a  globe,  made 
by  him  in  i520,  this  inscription  designating  South 
America  :  '•  America  vel  Brasilia  sive  papagalli  terra  " 
(America  or  Brasil  or  the  land  of  parrots).'  Later  still 
a  number  of  writer3  m  turn  undertook  to  defame  Ves- 
pucci by  asserting  that  he  did  not  make  the  voyage  of 
1497,  and  to  support  their  arguments  quoted  the 
erroneous  statements  of  the  different  versions  of  his 
letter.  The  assumptions  of  these  writers,  however, 
are  not  corroborated  by  the  Italian  text  of  Vespucci's 
letter,  in  part  presented  on  the  preceding  pages,  nor 
are  they  verified  by  later  researches  in  the  archives  of 
Spain  and  Portugal.' 

When  the  Spaniards  were  exploring  the  West  India 

un  globe  terrestre  h  la  date  de  1509  qui  fait  partie  de  la  collectione  de  M.  le 
giniral  de  Hauslab  h  yienne."—]e&n  et  Sebastien  Cabot.  Hariisse.  p.  182. 
Note. 

'  "  Americus  Vesputius  maritima  loca  Indice  superiotis  ex  Hispaniis  navigio 
ad  ocfidentem  perlustrans,  earn  partem  qua  superioris  India  est  credidit  esse 
Insulam  quam  a  sua  nomine  vocari  instituit." — loannis  Schoneri  Carolostadii 
opvscvlvm  geographicvm  ex  diversonim  libris  ac  cartis.    [Nuremberg,  1533.] 

'  Schoner's  globe  is  still  preserved  in  the  library  of  Nuremberg. 

*  Historia  general  de  los  hechos  de  los  Castellanos  en  las  islas  tierra  hrme 
del  mar  oceano.  Herrera.  dec.  i.  lib.  iv.  cap.  i,  ii.  Amerigo  Vespucci. 
Varnhagen.  pp.  33-64.  Bibliotheca  Americana.  [Harrisse.]  pp.  62-68, 
149,  150,  304,  305.  O  Brazil  no  seculo  xvi.  Capistrano  de  Abreu.  pp.  1-39. 
Descobrimento  do  Brasil  e  seu  deseuvolvimento  no  seculo  xvi.  Capistrano  de 
Abreu.     Rio  de  Janeiro,  1883.     pp.  17-66. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF   AMERICA. 


131 


archipelago  a  report  became  current  that  on  one  of 
the  more  northward  islands  there  was  a  fountain,  the 
water  of  which  possessed  extraordinary  virtues.  Peter 
Martyr  heard  the  rumor,  and  wrote,  in  i5ii,  to  the 
bishop  of  Rome,  saying:  "There  is  an  island  about 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five  leagues  from  Espan- 
ola,  as  they  say  who  have  searched  for  it,  named 
Boiuca  or  Agnaneo,  on  which  is  a  never- failing 
spring  of  running  water  of  such  marvelous  efficacy 
that  when  the  water  is  drunk,  perhaps,  with  some 
attention  to  diet,  it  makes  old  people  young  again. 
And  here  I  must  beg  your  holiness  not  to  think  that 
this  is  said  jestingly  or  thoughtlessly,  for  they  have 
reported  it  everywhere  as  a  fact,  so  that  not  only  all 
the  common  people  but  also  the  educated  and  the 
wealthy  believe  it  to  be  true."  ' 

The  island  of  Boiuca  appears  to  be  partly  outlined 
on  the  small  map  in  Peter  Martyr's  "  Legatio  Baby- 
lonica,"  printed  at  Seville  in  i5ii.  It  is  designated 
On  the  latter  as  a  part  of  the  island  of  Beimeni, — 
"  Isla  de  beimeni  parte." ' 

Among  those  who  gave  credence  to  the  fiction  of 
the  marvellous  virtues  of  the  spring  of  Boiuca  was  Juan 
Ponce  de  Leon,  a  Spanish  cavalier,  who  had  attained 
considerable  military  fame  in  the  West  Indies.^  He 
had  sailed  from  Spain  in  1493  to  Espafiola  in  one  of 
the  ships  of  Columbus's  second  expedition.  In  i  Sog  he 
took  part  in  the  subjugation  of  the  Island  of  Borriquen, 
afterward  called   Porto   Rico,  of  which  ^e  was  made 

'  De  Orbo  Novo  decades,     dec.  ii.     cap.  x. 

*  The  map  is  found  on  the  reverse  page  of  the  forty-fifth  leaf  of  Peter 
Martyr's  rare  book,  entitled  :  P.  Martyris  Angli  Mediolanensis  opera  Legatio 
Babylonica,  Oceani  decas,  poemata,  epigrammata.  Impressum Hispali  cu  summa 
diligencia  Jacobu  Corumberger,  Alemanu.  Anno  Millesimo  quingentissinio. 
xi.  meso  vero  Aprili.     The  chart  measures  seven  and  a  half  by  eleven  inches. 

'  Juan  Ponce  was  born  at  Leon,  Spain,  about  1460. 


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222 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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governor.  Beguiling  himself  with  the  hope  that  he 
could  renew  the  vigor  of  his  youth  by  bathing  in  the 
stream  of  life-giving  water,  and  at  the  same  time  add 
honor  to  his  name  by  becoming  the  discoverer  of  the 
island  on  which  the  fountain  was  said  to  be,  Juan  Ponce 
fitted  out  three  vessels  and  sailed  from  the  port  of  St. 
Germao,  Porto  Rico,  on  Thursday,  the  third  of  March, 
i5i2,  to  search  for  the  island  Boiuca,  which  some  called 
Bimini.  "It  is  certain," says  Herrera,  the  Spanish  his- 
torian, "  that  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  besides  intending  to 
make  new  discoveries,  as  all  the  Spaniards  at  that  time 
aspired  to  do,  was  also  intent  on  finding  the  fountain 
of  Bimini  and  a  river  in  Florida;  the  Indians  of  Cuba 
and  Espafiola  affirming  that  old  people  bathing  them- 
selves in  them  became  young  again,  and  it  was  a  fact 
that  many  Indians  of  Cuba,  firmly  believing  that  there 
was  such  a  stream,  had  found  that  island  not  long 
before  the  Spaniards,  and  had  passed  over  to  Florida 
in  search  of  the  river,  and  there  built  a  town,  where 
their  descendants  reside  to  this  day.  This  report  so 
affecr  I  all  the  princes  and  caciques  in  those  parts  that 
it  was  a  hobby  to  find  a  river  which  wrought  such  a 
wonderful  change  as  made  old  people  young,  so  that 
there  was  not  a  river  or  a  brook,  scarcely  a  lake  or  a 
puddle,  in  all  Florida,  in  which  they  did  not  bathe 
their.selves." ' 

The  explorations  and  discoveries  of  Juan  Ponce  are 
thus  described  by  Herrera :  "  On  Sunday,  the 
twenty-seventh  of  March,  the  day  of  the  Feast  of  the 
Resurrection,  commonly  called  the  Feast  of  Flowers, 
{^ue  era  Dia  de  Pascuade  Resurreccion,  que  comunmente 
dicen  de  Flores)  they  saw  an  island  and  passed  by  it. 
On  Monday,  the  twenty-eighth,  they  steered  in  the 

'  Historia  general.     Herrera.     dec.  i.     lib.  ix.     cap.  x. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


223 


same  direction,  fifteen  leagues,  until  Wednesday,  when 
the  weatiier  became  foul.  They  then  stood  west-north- 
west until  the  second  of  April.  The  water  grew 
shallower  until  they  came  into  nine  fathoms,  a  league 
from  the  land,  which  was  in  thirty  degrees  and  eight 
minutes.  Thinking  this  land  was  an  island  they  called 
it  La  Florida,  because  it  had  a  very  pretty  landscape 
of  many  green  groves,  and  it  was  level  and  regular,  and 
because  they  discovered  it  at  the  time  of  the  Floral 
Feast  [Pasaia  Florida).^  Juan  Ponce  wished  the 
name  to  conform  to  these  two  facts.  He  went  on  land 
to  learn  the  language  and  to  take  possession. 

"  On  Friday,  the  eighth,  they  sailed  again  the  same 
way,  and  on  Saturday,  south  by  east,  until  the  twen- 
tieth, when  they  saw  some  Indian  huts  from  the  place 
where  they  had  cast  anchor.  The  next  day  the  three 
ships  sailed  along  the  coast  and  entered  a  current 
which  was  so  swift  that  it  drove  them  back,  although 
they  had  the  wind  strong."  The  two  ships,  near  the 
land,  dropped  their  anchors,  but  the  force  of  the  stream 
was  so  great  that  it  strained  the  cables.  The  third 
vessel,  a  brigantine,  being  farther  out,  either  found  no 
bottom  or  was  not  sensible  of  the  current,  which  carried 
her  so  far  from  the  shore  that;  they  lost  sight  of  her, 
although  the  day  was  bright  and  the  weather  fine. 

"Juan  Ponce  being  called  by  the  Indians  went 
ashore  and  the  latter  at  once  undertook  to  possess 
themselves  of  the  boat,  the  oars,  and  the  arms.  This 
was  tolerated  till  one  of  the  Indians  stunninor  a  sailor 
with  a  stroke  of  a  cudgel  on  the  head,  when  the  Span- 
iards were  compelled  to  fight.     They  had  two  of  their 

'  The  Indians  called  this  region  Caulio.  Historia  general.  Herrera. 
dec.  i.     lib.  ix.     cap.  x. 

*  The  Gulf  Stream,  which  at  this  point  is  quite  deep  and  narrow,  has  a 
velocity  varying  from  four  to  five  miles  an  hour. 


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224 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


men  wounded  with  darts  and  arrows  pointed  with  sharp 
bones,  and  the  Indians  received  little  injury.  Night 
parting  them,  Juan  Ponce,  with  considerable  difficulty, 
got  his  men  together  and  sailed  thence  to  a  river, 
where  they  wooded  and  watered,  and  waited  for  the 
bngantine.  Sixty  Indians  came  to  attack  them,  one 
of  whom  was  taken  to  give  information  and  to  learn 
the  Spanish  language.  The  river  they  called  Rio  de 
la  Cruz,  (River  of  the  Cross),  planting  there  a  stone 
cross,  bearing  an  inscription."' 

On  the  twenty-third  of  September,  after  having 
coasted  in  different  directions  along  the  Flowery  Land, 
Juan  Ponce  determ.ined  to  return  to  Porto  Rico.  Be- 
fore he  set  sail,  he  sent  Juan  Perez  de  Ortubia  to  make 
a  further  search  for  the  rejuvenating  fountains  on  the 
island  of  Bimini.  Not  long  after  Juan  Ponce's  return 
to  Porto  Rico,  Ortubia  arrived  there  and  reported  that 
he  had  found  the  island,  but  not  the  wonderful  spring." 

'  "  On  Sunday,  the  eighth  of  May,  they  doubled  the  Cape  of  Florida,  giv- 
ing it  the  name  of  the  Cape  of  the  Currents  (Cabo  de  Corrientes),  because  they 
are  stronger  there  than  the  wind,  and  came  to  an  anchorage  near  a  town  called 
Abaiia.  All  this  coast,  from  the  Point  of  Reefs  (Punta  de  Arracifes)  to  the 
Cape  of  the  Currents,  trending  north  and  south  one  point  to  the  eastward,  is 
clean,  and  has  six  fathoms  water,  the  cape  lying  in  twenty-eight  degrees  fifteen 
minutes.  They  sailed  on  till  they  met  with  two  islands  to  the  southward,  in 
twenty-seven  degrees,  one  of  which,  being  a  league  in  compass,  they  named 
Sinta  Marta,  and  took  in  water  there, 

"  On  Friday,  the  thirteenth  of  May,  they  sailed  along  a  shoal  and  a  row  of 
islands  as  far  as  the  island  which  they  called  Pola,  lying  in  twenty-six  degrees 
and  a  half.  Between  the  shoal  and  the  row  of  islands  and  the  continent  is  a 
spaciouo  sea,  like  a  bay, 

"  On  Sunday,  the  day  of  the  Feast  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  fifteenth  of  May, 
they  coasted  ten  leagues  along  a  row  of  small  islands  as  far  as  two  white  ones, 
and  they  called  them  all  the  Martyrs,  (las  MartSes),  because  the  high  rocks,  at 
a  distance,  look  like  men  suffering,  and  the  na:  le  has  suited  them  well  on  account 
of  the  large  number  of  persons  who  have  since  been  lost  there.  The  rocks  lie 
in  twenty-six  degrees  fifteen  minutes.  The  ships  held  on,  sometimes  north  and 
sometimes  northeast,  until  the  twenty-third  of  May  ;  and  on  the  twenty-fourth 
tney  ran  along  the  coast  to  the  southward  as  far  as  seme  small  islands  which 
lay  out  at  sea,  and  still  they  did  not  perceive  that  it  was  the  main-land." 

•  Historia  general.     Ilerrcra.     dec.  i.     lib.  ix.     cap.  x,  xii. 


.1^  . 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


225 


Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  went  to  Spain  and  obtained 
from  the  crown  the  appointment  of  adelantado  of 
Bimini  and  Florida.  When  he  heard,  while  living  at 
Porto  Rico,  the  reports  of  the  success  of  Hernando 
Cortes  in  Mexico,  he  fitted  out,  in  i52i,two  ships,  and 
sailed  to  Florida  to  take  possession  of  it  and  to  s'  ■*^le 
a  colony  on  its  attractive  shores.  But  the  nati-  ■  ,  A- 
iantly  opposed  the  occujJation  of  their  counuy  arid 
drove  the  ambitious  invader,  with  the  loss  of  many 
men,  to  his  ships.  Ju.n  Ponce  was  wounded  in  the 
thigh  by  an  arrow.  The  vessels  sailed  to  Cuba,  where 
the  impoverished  and  disabled  Spaniard  not  long  after 
died.' 

The  exploration  of  Central  America  was  continued 
in  1 5 1 1  by  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  a  native  of  Xeres 
de  los  Caballeros,  Spain,  who  had  accompanied  Rod- 
rigo  de  Bastidas  when  he  sailed  on  his  voyage  of  dis- 
covery to  the  New  World,  in  October,  i5oo.  In  i5io 
the  Indian  village  on  the  isthmus  of  Darien,  west  of 
the  Gulf  of  Uraba,  was  made  the  seat  of  the  govern- 
ment of  this  part  of  the  continent  by  the  Spaniards, 
and  called  Santa  Maria  de  la  Antigua  del  Darien. 
Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  was  appointed  alcade  of  the 
new  colony.  This  ambitious  and  avaricious  adven- 
turer penetrated  the  dense  forest  belting  the  northern 
coast  of  the  isthmus,  and  invaded  the  interior,  where 
he  found  a  wealthy  cacique,  named  Comogre.  The 
Indian  chief  entertained  Vasco  Nunez  and  his  four- 
score followers  with  generous  hospitality  in  his 
large  and  attractive  palace,  a  wooden  building  one 
hundred  and  fifty  paces  long  and  eighty  wide.  He 
presented  his  indigent  guest  with  four  thousand 
ounces  of  golden  ornaments  and  sixty  slaves.     '•  This 

'  Primera  y  scgunda  parte  de  la  htstoria  general  de  las  Indias.  Gomara. 
cap.  X. 


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226 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


gold,  with  as  much  more  obtained  at  anothe**  place," 
says  Peter  Martyr,  "  our  men  weighed  on  the  porch  of 
Comogre's  palace,  to  separate  the  fifth  part  due  to  the 
king's  exchequer,  for  it  was  a  law  that  the  fifth  part  of 
the  gold,  pearls,  and  precious  stones  should  be  given 
to  the  royal  treasurer,  and  the  remainder  be  divided 
among  the  discoverers.  While  our  men  were  wran- 
gling and  contending  about  the  division  of  the  gold,  the 
eldest  son  of  Comogre,  the  cacique,  who  was  present 
and  whom  we  commended  for  wisdom,  approached 
with  some  appearance  of  anger  him  who  was  weighing 
the  treasure,  and  struck  the  balances  with  his  fist,  scat- 
tering the  gold  all  over  the  porch."  Pointing  south- 
ward toward  the  mountains,  he  told  them  that  beyond 
those  sierras  was  a  great  sea,  on  which  people  sailed 
with  ships  as  large  as  theirs,  and  that  the  adjacent 
country  contained  great  quantities  of  gold. 

Balboa  heard  this  surprising  announcement  with 
delight,  and,  ambitious  to  be  honored  as  the  discoverer 
of  the  unnamed  sea  and  the  country  abounding  with 
rich  mines,  began  to  plan  to  go  there  and  achieve  the 
notoriety  that  would  make  his  name  forever  famous. 
On  the  first  of  September,  i5i3,  Vasco  Nunez,  with 
one  hundred  and  ninety  men  and  a  number  of  Indian 
guides,  embarked  at  Santa  Maria  de  la  Antigua  and 
set  sail  in  a  brigantine  for  the  Indian  village  of  Coyba. 
Here  he  began  his  toilsome  and  dangerous  march 
across  the  isthmus.  After  enduring  untold  hardships 
the  pertinacious  Spaniard  and  his  small  body  of  way- 
worn followers  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  de 
Quarequa,  intercepting  the  view  of  the  unseen  ocean.' 

'  Ten  ye:^i  before  this,  says  Humboldt,  "Columbus  distinctly  learned, 
wben  he  ^vas  coasting  along  the  eastern  shores  of  Veragua,  that  to  the  west  of 
this  land  there  was  a  sea  '  which  in  less  than  nine  days'  sail  wc  ild  bear  ships  to 
the  Chersonesus  attrea  of  Ptolemy  and  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ganges.'     In,  the 


I 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


227 


While  climbing  the  rugged  slope  of  the  intervening 
mountain,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  September,  Balboa 
commanded  his  men  to  halt  and  to  remain  where  they 
were  until  he  had  reached  the  summit  and  surveyed 
the  wide  expanse  of  the  great  ocean  billowing  between 
the  isthmus  and  the  remote  shores  of  India.  When 
the  enthusiastic  Spaniard  ascended  to  the  top  of  the 
mountain  and  beheld  the  Mar  del  Sur  (Sea  of  the 
South),  he  fell  upon  his  knees  and  thanked  God  for 
honoring  him  as  its  discoverer,  "as  he  was  a  man  of 
moderate  ability,  little  knowledge,  and  humble  birth." 
Calling  to  his  men  to  come  to  him,  he  ordered  them, 
after  surveying  the  discovered  sea,  to  construct  a 
wooden  cross,  and  to  plant  it  where  he  had  kneeled 
and  rendered  thanks  for  the  honor  conferred  on  him. 
A  mound  of  stones  was  built  near  the  cross  as  a  monu- 
ment to  commemorate  the  discovery  of  the  ocean  and 
the  adjacent  country  for  his  majesty,  the  king  of  Spain. 
Descending  the  southern  slope  of  the  mountain,  Balboa 
and  his  followers  made  their  way  to  the  shore  of  the 
bay,  which  he  called  San  Miguel,  where  the  proud 
discoverer,  with  a  banner  embellished  with  the  picture 
c  '"the  Holy  Virgin  and  Child  and  the  insignia  of  Spain, 
marched  into  the  sea,  and  took  possession  of  it  in  the 
name  of  his  sovereign,  King  Ferdinand.  Having  ex- 
plored a  part  of  the  southern  coast  of  the  isthmus, 
Vasco  Nunez  and  his  men  reentered  the  wilderness 
and  arrived  at  Santa  Maria  de  la  Antigua  on  the  nine- 
teenth of  January,  i5i4. 

same  Carta  rarissima,  which  contains  the  beautiful  and  poetic  narration  of  a 
dream,  the  admiral  says  that  '  the  opposite  coasts  of  Veragua,  near  the  Rio  de 
Belen,  are  situated  relatively  to  another,  as  Tortosa  on  the  Mediterranean  and 
Fuenterabia  in  Biscay,  or  as  Venice  and  Pisa.'  The  great  ocean,  the  South 
Pacific,  was  even  at  that  time  ref^arded  as  merely  a  continuation  of  the  Sinus 
magnus^fXSyai  xoiknoi)  of  Ptolemy,  situated  before  the  golden  Chersonesus, 
whilst  Cattigara  and  the  land  of  the  Sines  (Thinae)  were  supposed  to  constitute 
its  eastern  boundary." — Humboldt ;  Cosmos.  Otte's  trans,  vol.  ii.  pp.  642,  643. 


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228 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


In  the  following  year  Caspar  Morales  and  Francisco 
PIzarro  crossed  the  isthmus  with  sixty  men,  and  visited 
the  island  which  Balboa  had  called  Isla  Rica.  In  i5i6, 
Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  ambitious  of  obtaining  greater 
fame,  and  having  two  hundred  men  and  considerable 
money  at  his  command,  transported  the  timber,  rig- 
ging, and  other  appendages  of  two  brigantines  across 
the  isthmus,  and  after  putting  the  vessels  in  sailing 
condition,  launched  them  upon  the  recently  discovered 
ocean.  After  a  short  cruise  among  the  islands  near 
Isla  Rica,  Balboa  returned  to  the  Spanish  settlement  at 
Ada,  on  the  north  coast,  where  he  was  arrested  on 
some  false  charges  and  put  in  irons  by  Pedrarias  Davila, 
"as  a  traitor  and  an  usurper  of  the  territories  of  the 
crown  of  Spain."  The  enmity  of  Pedrarias  was  so  bit- 
ter toward  the  innocent  officer  that  the  Spanish  gover- 
nor of  Darien  ordered  Balboa  to  be  executed.  In  r  5 17, 
at  the  age  of  forty-one  years,  in  the  plasa  of  Ada,  the 
discoverer  of  the  South  Sea  was  publicly  beheaded.' 

To  further  explore  the  coast  of  Brazil,  it  is  said  that 
Juan  Diaz  de  Solis  sailed  from  Lepe,  Spain,  on  the 
eighth  of  October,  1 5 1 5.  Descrying  the  continent  at 
Cape  San  Roque,  in  five  degrees  south  latitude,  he 
steered  southward  along  the  coast  to  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
(River  of  January,)  in  twenty-three  degrees  south  lati- 
tude. Thence  he  coasted  farther  southward  and  en- 
tered a  large  bay  of  fresh  water,  which  he  called  Mar 
Dulce,  that  was  afterward  called  Rio  de  la  Plata.  While 
exploring  this  stream,  De  Solis,  with  some  of  his  crew, 
went  on  land,  and  while  ashore  was  attacked  by  the 
natives,  and  falling  into  their  hands  he  and  his  men 
were  roasted  and  devoured.    The  vessel  returned  to 

'  Historia  general.    Herrera.    dec.  i.    lib.  x.    cap.  i,  ii,  iv.    dec.  ii.  lib.  i. . 
cap.  iv,  xi.     De  Orb's  Novo  decades.     Martire.     dec.   iii.     cap.  ii,  iii,  vi,  x. 
dec.  iv.    ctp.  vi.    dec.  vii.    cap.  x. 


i-4u,. 


TTT 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


229 


Cape  St.  Augustine,  and    having  loaded  with  Brazil- 
wood, sailed  to  Spain.* 

The  greed  of  gold,  silver,  and  pearls, — the  master 
passion  governing  Spanish  capitalists  and  the  horde  of 
moneyless  adventurers  at  this  time  in  the  New  World, — 
was  the  cause  of  the  fitting  out  of  three  vessels,  in  1 5 1 7, 
to  go  in  search  of  new  countries  west  of  the  island  of 
Cuba.  This  fleet,  under  the  command  of  Francisco 
Hernando  de  Cordoba,  set  sail,  with  one  Imndred  and 
ten  soldiers,  about  the  beginning  of  February,  from 
San  Cristobal,  on  the  north  sideiof  .the  island,  and  after 
a  voyage  of  twenty-one  days  came  in  sight  of  the 
northeastern  part  of  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan,  where 
an  Indian  town  was  seen,  to  which  the  Spaniards  gave 
the  name  El  Gran  Cairo.  Near  this  place  three 
temples,  built  of  stone  and  lime,  were  found,  in  which 
were  many  clay  idols  "  some  of  them  having  terrible 
shapes,  seemingly  representing  Indians  committing 
horrible  offences.  In  these  temples,"  says  Bernal  Diaz 
del  Castillo,''  who  was  connected  with  the  expedition, 
"  we  also  found  wooden  boxes  containing  other  gods 
with  hellish  faces,  several  small  shells,  some  ornaments, 
three  crowns,  and  a  number  of  trinkets,  some  in  the 
shape  of  fish,  others  in  the  shape  of  ducks,  all  made  of 
an  inferior  kind  of  gold.  Seeing  all  these  things,  the 
gold  and  the  good  architecture  of  the  temples,  we  felt 
overjoyed  at  the  discovery  of  the  country."  At  a  town, 
which  the  Spaniards  called  San  Lazaro,  although  they 

'  Historia  general.     Herrera.    dec.  ii.    lib.  i.     cap.  vii. 

*  Bernal  Diaz  del  Castillo,  a  native  of  Medina  del  Campo,  Spain,  came  to 
the  New  World,  in  15 14,  with  Pedro  Arias  de  Avila,  who  had  been  appointed 
governor  of  Terra  Firma.  He  sailed  with  Cordoba  and  Grijalva  on  their  ex- 
peditions of  discovery,  and  was  with  Cortes  in  his  Mexican  campaign,  and  par- 
ticipated in  more  than  a  hundred  engagements.  He  was  regidor  of  the  city  of 
Guatemala,  where,  on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  February,  1568,  he  completed 
his  True  history  of  the  conquest  of  New  Spain. 


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230 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


were  aware  that  the  Indians  called  it  Campeachy,  they 
were  invited  to  land  by  the  inhabitants,  "  who  wore  , 
fine  mantles  made  of  cotton."  "  They  took  us  "  Diaz 
remarks  "  to  some  large  edifices,  which  were  strongly 
built  of  stone  and  lime  and  were  in  many  ways  attrac- 
tive. These  were  temples,  the  walls  of  which  were 
covered  with  figures  representing  snakes  and  all  kinds 
of  gods.  About  an  altar  we  saw  several  fresh  spots  of 
blood.  On  some  of  the  idols  there  were  figures  like 
crosses.  There  were  some  paintings  representing 
groups  of  Indians.  All  these  greatly  astonished  us, 
for  we  had  neither  seen  nor  heard  of  such  things 
before."  "■'■        '"-■■" 

While  the  explorers  were  taking  in  water,  near  a 
village  called  Potonchan,  now  Champoton,  on  the 
■western  side  of  the  peninsula,  where  there  were  some 
wells,  maize-plantations,  and  stone  buildings,  the  in- 
habitants visited  them.  "They  all  wore  cotton  cuirasses 
which  reached  to  their  knees.  They  were  armed  with 
bows,  lances,  shields,  and  swords.  The  latter,"  Diaz 
further  remarks,  "  were  shaped  like  our  broad  swords, 
and  are  wielded  with  both  hands."  They  also  had 
slings  for  throwing  stones.  They  had  bunches  of 
feathers  on  their  heads,  and  had  their  bodies  decorated 
with  white,  brown,  and  black  colors.  Speaking  of  an 
engagement  which  the  Spaniards  had  with  the  natives, 
Diaz  says  :  "As  soon  as  it  was  daylight  we  saw  more 
companies  of  armed  natives  moving  toward  the  coast 
with  flags.  They  wore  feather  head-dresses,  and  were 
provided  with  drums,  bows,  lances,  and  shields.  They 
joined  themselves  to  the  others  who  had  arrived  in  the 
night.  They  divided  themselves  into  corps,  surrounded  7 
us  on  all  sides,  and  began  to  assail  us  with  so  many 
arrows,  lances,  and  stones,  that  more  than  eight  of  our 


^^-_.„. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


331 


men  were  wounded  in  the  first  onset.  They  then 
rushed  fu.iously  forward  and  attacked  us  man  to  man  ; 
some  with  their  lances,  othc  s  with  their  swords  and 
arrows,  and  with  such  terrible  impetuosity  that  we  were 
compelled  to  show  them  opposition.  We  dealt  them 
many  a  good  thrust  and  blow,  continuing  at  the  same 
time  an  incessant  fire  with  our  matchlocks  and  cross- 
bows ;  for  while  some  loaded  other-  fired.  At  last,  by 
heavy  blows  and  thrusts  we  forced  them  back,  but  they 
did  not  retreat  farther  than  was  necessary  to  keep 
us  strongly  surrounded.  *  *  *  Perceiving  how 
closely  we  were  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  the  enemy, 
who  not  only  kept  getting  fresh  troops  but  were  plenti- 
fully supplied  in  the  field  with  meat,  drink,  and  num- 
bers of  arrows,  we  soon  concluded  that  all  our  valiant 
fighting  would  not  benefit  us.  All  of  us  were  wounded. 
Many  were  shot  through  the  neck,  and  more  than  fifty 
of  our  men  were  killed.  In  this  critical  position  we 
determined  to  cut  our  way  manfully  through  the 
enemy's  ranks  and  get  to  the  boats,  which  fortunately 
lay  on  the  coast  near  us.  We  therefore  resolutely 
closed  our  ranks  and  broke  through  those  of  the  enemy. 
You  should  then  have  heard  the  whizzing  of  their 
arrows,  the  terrible  yells  of  the  Indians,  and  how  they 
incited  one  another  to  fight.  *  *  *  Many  of  our 
men  were  wounded  while  climbing  into  the  vessel, 
especially  those  who  clung  to  its  side,  for  the  Indians 
pursued  us  in  their  canoes,  and  persistently  assailed 
us.  With  the  utmost  exertion  and  the  help  of  God 
we  escaped  from  the  hands  of  this  people." 

"  Our  vessels,"  Diaz  further  relates,  "  were  taken  to 
Santiago  of  Cuba,  where  the  governor  [Diego  Velas- 
quez] resided.  Here  the  two  Indians  were  brought  on 
shore  whom  we  had  taken  with  us  from   Punta  de 


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232 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


Cotoche,  as  already  related,  called  Melchorejo  and 
Juanillo.  When,  however,  we  brought  forth  the  box 
with  the  crowns,  the  golden  ducks,  the  fish,  the  idols, 
more  noise  was  made  about  them  than  they  really 
merited,  so  that  they  became  the  common  topics  of 
conversation  throughout  the  islands  of  St.  Domingo 
and  Cuba ;  indeed,  the  report  concerning  them  reached 
Spain.  There  it  was  said  that  none  of  the  discovered 
countries  were  as  rich  as  this  one,  and  in  none  had 
there  been  found  houses  built  of  stone.  The  earthen 
gods,  it  was  said,  were  the  heathen  relics  of  ancient 
times ;  others  ventured  to  afiirm  that  they  [the  people 
of  Yucatan]  were  the  descendants  of  the  Jews  who 
had  been  shipwrecked  off  this  coast,  whom  Titus  and 
Vespasian  had  driven  from  Jerusalem.  *  *  *  Diego 
Velasquez  closely  questioned  the  two  Indians  whether 
there  were  any  gold-mines  in  t'.ieir  country.  They 
answered  in  the  affirmative ;  and  when  they  were  shown 
some  of  the  gold-dust  found  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  they 
said  there  was  an  abundance  of  it  in  their  country. 
This  was  not  true,  for  it  is  well  known  that  there  are 
no  gold-mines  on  the  Punta  de  Cotoche,  or  anywhere 
in  the  whole  of  Yucatan.  They  were  likewise  shown 
the  beds  in  which  the  seeds  of  that  plant  are  sown 
from  whose  root  the  cassava- bread  is  made,  which  in 
Cuba  is  called  yuca.  They  assured  us  that  the  same 
plant  grew  in  their  country,  and  was  called  by  t  lem 
tale.  As  the  cassava-root  in  Cuba  is  called  yuca,  and 
the  ground  in  which  it  is  planted  by  the  Indians  tale, 
so  from  these  two  words  originated  the  name  of  the 
country,  Yucatan ;  for  the  Spaniards,  vho  were  stand- 
ing around  the  governor  at  the  time  that  he  was  speak- 
ing to  the  two  Indians,  said :  '  You  see,  sir,  they  call 
their  country  Yucatan.'     And  from  this  circumstance 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


the  country  retained  the  name  of  Yucatan,  although 
the  natives  call  it  by  a  different  name." ' 

"  It  was  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  i5i8,"  says  Diaz, 
"  after  Diego  Velasquez  had  heard  the  good  account 
we  gave  of  the  newly-discovered  country  called  Yuca- 
tan, that  he  determined  to  send  another  expedition  to 
it.  For  this  purpose  he  selected  four  vessels,  among 
which  were  the  two  in  which  we  soldiers  had  accom- 
panied Cordoba  on  our  late  voyage  to  Yucatan,  pur- 
chased at  our  expense.  *  *  *  Our  account  that 
the  houses  in  the  newly-discovered  country  were  built 
of  stone  and  lime  had  originated  an  extraordinary 
conception  of  its  riches,  besides  the  Indian  Mel- 
chorejo  had  indicated  by  signs  that  it  contained 
gold-mines.  All  these  things  created  a  great  desire 
among  the  inhabitants  and  soldiers  on  the  island 
[Cuba]  who  possessed  no  official  authority  over  the 
Indians  to  go  in  search  of  a  rich  country  like  this  one  ; 
consequently,  in  a  very  short  time,  we  mustered  two 
hundred  and  twenty  men." 

Commanded  by  Juan  de  Grijalva,  the  vessels  sailed 
on  the  first  of  May ,  1 5 1 8,  from  the  port  of  Santiago,  Cuba. 
After  touching  at  different  points,  the  fleet  at  last 
arrived  off  the  coast  of  Champoton,  on  the  west  side 
of  Yucatan,  where  the  Indians  had  attacked  the  Span- 
iards on  the  last  voyage  and  had  driven  them  to  their 
vessels.  Here  they  had  another  engagement  with  the 
natives,  but  the  Spaniards  were  victorious  and  put  the 
enemy  to  flight.     They  then  proceeded  southward  to 

'  Historia  verdadera  de  la  conquista  de  la  Nueva  Espana.  Escrita  por  el 
Capitan  Bernal  Diaz  del  Castillo,  vno  de  sus  conquistadores.  En  Madrid,  1632. 
cap.  i-vi. 

Vide  The  memoirs  of  the  conquistador,  Bemal  Diaz  del  Castillo,  written 
by  himself,  containing  a  true  and  full  account  of  the  discovery  and  conquest  of 
Mexico  and  New  Spain.  Translated  from  the  original  Spanish  by  John  In- 
grim  Lockhart.     London,  1844.     vol.  i.    chap.  i-vi. 


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234 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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the  bay  called  La  Boca  de  Terminos,  where  Dia^  relates 
"  we  found  temples  built  of  stone  and  lime,  full  of  idols 
made  of  wood  or  clay,  with  other  figures,  some  repre- 
senting women,  some  serpents  ;  also  the  horns  of 
various  kinds  of  wild  animals.  We  concluded  that 
an  Indian  village  was  near  it.  *  *  *  ^^  have, 
however,  deceived  ourselves,  for  the  district  was  en- 
tirely uninhabited." 

At  a  promontory,  beyond  the  bay,  toward  the 
west,  about  thirty  Indians  visited  the  explorers,  bring- 
ing with  them  broiled  fish,  fowl,  fruit,  and  maize- 
bread.  "  They  also,"  Diaz  relates,  ••  brought  pans 
filled  with  red-hot  embers,  on  which  they  strewed 
incense,  and  perfumed  us  all.  After  this  ceremony 
was  ei  d  they  spread  some  mats  en  the  ground,  over 
which  they  laid  a  piece  of  cotton  cloth.  On  this  they 
put  some  trifling  ornaments  of  gold  in  the  shape  of 
ducks  and  lizards,  with  three  necklaces  made  of  gold. 
*  *  *  They  next  presented  us  with  some  man 
ties  and  waistcoats,  such  as  they  wore,  and  begged  of 
us  to  accept  them,  saying  that  they  had  no  more  gold 
to  give  us,  but  that  farther  toward  the  setting  of  the 
sun  there  was  a  country  where  it  was  found  in  great 
abundance,  at  the  same  time  often  repeating  the  word 
Culba,  and  Mexico.  We  however  did  not  understand 
what  they  meant." 

At  a  town  called  Aguajaluco  they  saw  Indians 
hurrying  to  and  fro  with  large  shields  made  of  large 
tortoise-shells,  which  glittered  so  brilliantly  in  the 
sun  that  some  of  the  Spaniards  thought  that  they 
were  of  inferior  gold.  At  an  island,  beyond  one 
which  they  called  Isla  Blanca,  Diaz  relates  :  "  We 
found  two  houses  which  were  strongly  built  of  st^ne 
and  lime.     Both  were  ascended  by  flights  of  steps,  and 


I 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


m 


had  altars,  on  which  stood  several  abominable  idols,  to 
which,  on  the  previous  evening,  five  Indians  had 
been  sacrificed.  Their  dead  bodies  still  lay  there,  t  t 
open,  with  the  irms  and  '-"gs  chopped  off,  while  every 
thing  near  was  besmeared  with  blood.  We  contem- 
plated this  sight  in  utter  astonishment,  and  gave  the 
island  the  name  of  Isla  de  los  Sacrificios." 

At  another  island  farther  to  the  west,  Diaz  says  : 
"  We  found  a  temple  on  which  '^tood  the  great 
and  abominable-looking  god  TetzcatHpuca,  surround- 
ed by  four  Indians,  dressed  in  wide,  black  cloaks, 
their  hair  hanging  as  our  canons  or  Dominicans 
wear  it.  These  were  the  priests,  who  had  that* 
very  day  sacrificed  two  boys,  whose  bodies  they 
had  cut  open  and  then  offered  their  bleeding  hearts 
to  this  horrible  idol.  They  were  about  to  perfume 
us  in  the  same  way  they  had  done  their  gods  ;  but 
though  the  perfume  smelled  like  our  incense,  we 
would  not  permit  them  so  shocked  we  were  at  the 
sight  of  the  two  boys  whom  they  had  recently  killed, 
and  we  were  disgusted  v;ith  their  abominations.  Our 
captain  questioned  Francisco,  the  Indian  whom  we  had 
brought  with  us  from  the  Rio  de  Banderas,  concerning 
the  purport  of  all  these  things,  for  he  seemed  to  be  an 
intelligent  person,  we  having,  at  that  time,  as  I  have 
already  stated,  no  interpreter.  Our  captain  interro- 
gated him  by  signs.  Francisco  answered  that  this 
sacrifice  had  been  ordered  by  the  people  of  Culua  ; 
but,  as  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  pronounce  this  word, 
he  repeatedly  said,  Olua,  Olua.  In  honor  of  our  com- 
mander, whose  Christian  name  was  Juan,  and  as  the 
day  was  the  feast  of  St.  John,  we  gave  this  small  island 
the  name  of  San  Juan  de  Ulua." 

Sailing  northward  along  the  coast  of  Mexico,  "  we 


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' 


f 


1/ 


l^:ii 


236 


DISCOVERIFS  OF  AMERICA. 


first  came,"  says  Diaz,  "  in  sight  of  Tusta,  and  two  days 
after,  of  the  more  elevated  mountains  of  Tuspa,  both 
of  which  take  th^:ir  names  from  two  towns  close  to 
these  mount:  'ns.  Along  this  part  of  the  coast  we  saw 
a  number  of  towns  lying  from  six  to  nine  miles  inland. 
It  is  now  the  province  of  Panuco."  On  account  of  t.ie 
approach  of  winter,  the  scarcity  of  provisions,  and  the 
leaky  condition  of  one  of  the  vessels,  the  explorers 
determined  to  return  to  Cuba ;  Pedro  de  Alvarador 
having  previously  set  sail  for  the  island. 

Speaking  of  th«ir  subsequent  explorations  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  mouth  of  the  Guacasualco  River  (now 
called  Rio  Coatzacoalcos,  in  Tehuantepec),  the  Spanish 
writer  says  :  "  As  soon  as  ihe  inhabitants  of  Guacas- 
ualco and  the.  neighboring  districts  learned  that  we 
offered  our  goods  for  barter,  they  brought  us  all  their 
golden  ornaments,  and  took  in  exchange  green  glass 
beads,  on  which  they  set  a  high  value.  Besides  orna- 
ments of  gold,  each  Indian  had  with  him  a  copper  axe, 
which  was  very  highly  polished,  with  the  handle  curi- 
ously carved,  that  served  equally  as  an  ornament  and, 
on  the  field  of  battle,  as  a  weapon.  At  first  we  thought 
that  these  axes  were  made  of  an  inferior  kind  of  gold. 
Therefore  we  began  to  take  them  in  exchange,  and  in 
the  space  of  two  days  collected  more  than  six  hundred, 
with  which  we  were  no  less  pleased,  as  long  as  we  were 
ignorant  of  their  real  value,  than  the  Indians  were  with 
our  glass  beads.  *  *  *  t^q  gg^  g^jj  f^j.  Cuba,  and 
arrived  there  in  the  space  of  forty  days.  *  *  *  We 
were  most  graciously  welcomed  by  the  governor,  Diego 
Velasquez,  who  was  highly  delighted  with  the  additional 
gold  we  brought  him.  Altogether,  it  was  well  worth 
4,000  pesos  /  so  that,  with  the  16,000  brought  over  by 
Alvarado,  the  whole  amounted  to  20,000  pesos. ^     Some 

*  *'  The  dollar  of  exchange  [J>eso  de  platd)  is  worth  8  reals  of  old  plate,  ff? 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


237 


made  this  sum  greater,  some  less  ;  but  one  thing  is 
certain,  the  crown  officials  took  only  the  fifth  of  the 
last-mentioned  sum.  When  they  were  about  to  take 
the  fifth  also  of  the  Indian  axes,  which  we  had  mis- 
taken for  gold,  they  grew  exceedingly  angry  on  finding 
them  only  to  be  of  a  fine  quality  of  copper.  This 
caused  the  people  to  laugh  at  our  trading  transac- 
tions." '  ^  '^ 

Immediately  after  the  return  of  Juan  de  Grijalva, 
in  i5i8,  from  this  voyage,  Diego  Velasquez,  the 
governor  of  Cuba,  issued  orders  for  the  fitting  out  of 
a  larger  fleet  than  the  one  commanded  by  the  former 
officer.  Respecting  the  person  who  was  to  have  com- 
mand of  this  expedition,  Diaz  says  that  "  the  matter 
was  secretly  setded  with  Hernando  Cortes,  by  two 
confidants  of  Diego  Velasquez,  Andres  de  Duero, 
secretary  to  the  governor,  and  Almador  de  Lares,  the 
royal  treasurer.  *  *  *  Duero  and  the  royal  treas- 
urer, therefore,  employed  all  their  cunning  to  influence 
the  governor.  They  took  every  opportunity  of  plac- 
ing Cortes  in  the  most  favorable  light,  extolling  his 
great  courage,  in  a  word,  declared  him  to  be  the  most 
capable  person  whom  he  could  intrust  with  the 
command.  *  *  *  Their  efforts  were  crowned 
with  success,  for  Diego  Velasquez  conferred  the 
appointment  of  captain-general  of  the  expedition  on 
that  gentleman.  *  *  *  After  Hernando  Cortes 
had  been  appointed  captain,  he  immediately  began  to 
collect  all  kinds  of  arms  and  ammunition,  as  match- 
locks, crossbows,  powder,  and  the  like.     With  the  same 

15  reals  2  maravedis  vellon.  •  •  »  The  value  of  the  peso  of  plate,  or  dol- 
lar of  exchange,  in  English  silver  coin,  is  39id."  [about  seventy-four  cents 
United  States  money]. — The  universal  cambist  and  commercial  instructor. 
By  Patrick  Kelly.     London,  1811.     vol.  i,     pp.  388,  389. 

'  Ilistoria  verdadera  de  la  conquista  de  la  Nueva  Espalia.     Diaz.    cap. 
viii-xvi. —  Vide  The  memoirs  of  the  conquistador.     Lockhart.     chap,  viii-xvi. 


|4 


."  I 


V:' 
i  ( 


f  ■ 

i 

i 


'  if  Tf 


1 


/'i 


f 


I 


I 


238 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


diligence  he  took  care  to  provide  a  large  stock  of 
goods  to  barter,  and  other  necessaries  for  our  expedi- 
tion." On  the  eighteenth  of  February,  iSig,  the  fleet 
was  on  its  way  toward  the  west.  On  the  island  of 
Cozumel,  near  the  eastern  coast  of  Yucatan,  Cortes  re- 
viewed his  troops.  "  Without  counting  the  pilots  and 
marines,"  says  Diaz,  "  our  number  amounted  to  five 
hundred  and  eight  men.  There  were  one  hundred 
and  nine  sailors,  and  sixteen  horses.  *  *  *  Our 
squadron  consisted  of  eleven  vessels  of  different  ton- 
nage. *  *  *  The  number  of  crossbow  men  was 
thirty-three,  and  of  those  bearing  matchlocks  thirteen. 
To  these  add  our  heavy  guns  and  four  falconets,  and 
a  great  quantity  of  powder  and  balls.  Respecting  the 
precise  number  of  crossbow  men  I  cannot  aver, 
though  it  matters  not  whether  there  were  a  few  more 
or  less.  *  *  *  I  iiave  now  said  all  that  need  be 
respecting  our  armament ;  indeed,  Cortes  was  very 
particular  about  the  merest  trifles  in  these  preparations. 
"  As  Cortes  paid  attention  to  every  circumstance, 
he  ordered  me  and  Martin  Camos  of  Biscay  into  his 
presence,  and  asked  us  what  our  opinion  was  of  the 
Vv'ord  Castilan,  Castilan,  which  the  Indians  of  Cam- 
peachy  had  so  often  repeated  when  we  landed  there, 
under  the  command  of  Francisco  Hernandez  de  Cor- 
doba. We  again  informed  him  of  every  transaction 
that  had  taken  place  there.  He  said  that  he  had  often 
turned  this  matter  over  in  his  mind,  and  could  not  help 
thinking  but  that  the  inhabitants  must  have  some 
Spaniards  among  them,  and  he  thouglt  it  would  not 
be  amiss  to  question  the  caciques  of  Cozumel  upon  this 
subject.  This  Cortes  accordingly  did,  and  desired 
Melchorejo,  who  by  this  time  had  gained  some  little 
knowledge  of  the  Spanish,  and  perfectly  understood 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


239 


the  language  of  Cozumel,  to  question  the  chiefs  about 
it.  The  statements  made  by  them  were  alike,  and 
plainly  indica>;ed  that  there  were  several  Spaniards  in 
the  country,  whom  they  had  seen  ;  that  they  as  slaves 
served  the  caciques,  who  lived  a  march  of  two  days 
inland  ;  and  that  it  was  within  a  few  days  that  some 
Indian  merchants  had  talked  to  them."  Some  days 
afterward  Cortes  learned  that  the  two  Spaniards  were 
Geroniino  de  Aguilar  and  Gonzalo  Guerrero.  Aguilar 
being  informed  of  the  presence  of  the  Spaniards 
joined  them  and  served  Cortes  in  the  important  posi- 
tion of  an  interpreter.' 

When  the  Spaniards  were  in  camp  at  the  island  of 
San  Juan  de  Ulua,  Cortes  was  visited,  on  Easter-day, 
by  one  of  the  farmer-generals  of  the  Mexican  empire, 
named  Teuthlille.  "  He  was  accompanied  "  says  Diaz. 
"  by  another  person  of  distinction  called  Quitlalpitoc. 
We  subsequently  learned  thatthey  were  governorsof  the 
provinces  of  Cotastlan,  Tuste^^^c,  Gnazpaltepec,  Tlata- 
teteclo,  and  other  districts  lately  subdued.  They  were 
followed  by  a  great  number  of  Indians  carrying  presents 
of  fowls  and  plants.  Teuthlille,  having  ordered  the 
others  to  stand  aside,  advanced  to  Cortes  and  bowed 
three  times  very  reverentially  in  the   Indian  fashion, 

*  "  He  said,  though  still  in  broken  Spanish,  that  his  name  was  Geronimo 
de  Aguilar,  and  was  a  native  of  Ecija.  About  eight  years  ngo  he  had  been  ship- 
wrecked with  fifteen  men  and  two  women,  on  a  voyage  between  Daricn  and  the 
island  of  St.  Domingo.  *  *  *  The  ship  struck  against  a  rock,  and  they 
had  not  been  rMe  to  get  her  off  again.  The  whole  of  the  crew  then  got  into 
the  boat,  with  the  hope  of  reaching  the  island  of  Cuba  or  Jamaica,  but  were 
driven  on  the  coast  of  Yucatan,  where  the  Calachionics  had  taken  them  prisoners 
and  distrihtitcd  them  among  the  people.  The  most  of  his  unfortunate  com- 
panions had  been  sacrificed  to  their  gods.  Some  had  died  of  grief  and  the 
women  had  pined  away,  being  worn  out  by  the  hard  labor  of  grinding  which 
they  had  forced  them  to  do.  He  had  been  doomed  to  be  sacrificed  to  their 
idols,  1,'ut  had  made  his  escape  at  night,  and  fled  to  the  cacique,  with  whom  he 
had  been  living.  *  *  *  He  had  tried  to  induce  Gonzalo  Guerrero  to  leave 
the  Indians,  but  had  failed."  


;•  If 

r      V 

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If 

L  i  m 

340 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


It 


( 


which  he  did  when  he  turned  toward  us  standing 
nearest  him.  Cortes  cordially  welcomed  them,  after 
which  he  embraced  <^hem.  He  desired  them  to  tarry 
a  while  and  told  them  that  he  would  give  them  a 
definite  answer  [in  reply  to  the  question  which  their 
sovereign,  the  great  Montezuma,'  had  sent  them  to  ask  : 
who  the  Spaniards  were  and  what  tliey  came  to  seek 
in  his  country].  Meanwhile  Cortes  ordered  the  altar 
to  be  arranged  as  prettily  as  possible.  Francisco 
Bartolom^  cind  Father  Juan  Diaz  performed  mass.  The 
two  governors  and  the  principal  personages  of  their 
suite  were  present  during  the  services,  after  which 
Cortes  partook  of  dinner  with  them. 

"  After  the  table  had  been  cleared,  Cortes  assisted 
by  Aguilar  and  Dona  Marina '  entered  into  conr^ersa- 
tion  with  the  .  Texican  officials  and  the  caciques,  telling 
them,  that  we  were  Christians,  the  subjects  of  the 
greatest  monarch  of  the  world,  named  Emperor 
Charles  3  fhat  he  had  many  great  personages  among 
his  subjects  and  servants,  that  we  had  come  by  his 
command  to  their  country,  of  which  and  its  powerful 
sovereign,  who  then  reigned,  his  majesty  had  long 
before  heard.  Cortes  speaking  of  himself  said  that  he 
was  desirous  to  become  the  friend  of  their  sovereign, 
and  had  to  disclose  many  things  to  him,  in  the  name 
of  his  majesty,  the  emperor,  which  their  monarch  would 
listen  to  with  delight.  In  order  that  a  good  under- 
standing might  be  established  between  him  [Cortes] 
and  his  [Montezuma's]  subjects,  they  should  acquaint 
him  with  the  place  where  this  monarch  resided,  that 

'  The  name  is  spelled  by  Diaz  "  Montetjuma." 

'  An  Indian  woman  presented  to  Cortes  by  the  cacique  of  Tabasco,  She 
had  readily  learned  to  speak  in  Spanish,  and  being  conversant  with  the  language 
of  the  Mexicans,  was  of  great  value  to  Cortes,  who  made  her  his  secretary  and 
then  his  mistress. 

*  Charles  v.  ascended  the  Spanish  throne  in  1516. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


HI 


he  [Cortes]  might  pay  his  respects  to  him  and  make 
the  necessary  disclosures.  TeuthHlle  answered  in  a 
rather  imperious  tone,  saying  :  '  Inasmuch  as  you 
have  lately  arrived  in  this  country,  it  would  be  more 
becoming  that  before  desiring  an  interview  with  my 
monarch,  you  should  accept  this  present,  which  we 
have  brought  you  in  his  nanit,  and  then  disclose  your 
wishes  to  me.'  He  then  took  from  a  box,  a  quantity 
of  gold-trinkets,  of  beautiful  and  artistic  workmanship, 
and  more  than  twenty  packages  of  sti\ffs  very  prettily 
made  of  white  cotton  and  feathers.  These  they  pre- 
sented to  Cortes,  besides  various  other  costly  gifts 
which,  on  account  of  the  number  of  years  that  has  in- 
tervened, I  cannot  now  remember,  together  with  pro- 
visions, as  fowl;  fruit,  and  dried  fish.  Cortes  accepted 
all  these  with  a  pleased  expression,  and  presented  these 
gentlemen  in  return  with  glass  beads  resembling  bril- 
liants, and  other  things  that  we  had  brought  from  Spain. 
He  begged  them  to  request  the  inhabitants  of  the  dif- 
ferent districts  to  begin  trading  with  us,  for  we  pos- 
sessed various  aiticles  which  we  desired  to  exchange 
for  gold.     This  they  promised  to  do. 

"  Cortes  then  ordered  an  arm-chair,  beautifully 
painted  and  adorned  with  inlaid  work  to  be  brought, 
also  some  pieces  of  precious  stones,  wrapped  in  cotton 
cloth,  perfumed  with  musk,  a  necklace  of  imitation 
pearls,  a  scarlet  cap,  with  a  medal,  on  which  was  repre- 
sented the  holy  St.  George  on  horseback,  with  lance 
in  hand,  killing  the  dragon.  Cortes  then  addressed 
Teuthlille,  and  said  that  he  presented  the  chair  to  his 
monarch,  Montezuma,  that  he  might  sit  in  it  when  he 
should  pay  him  a  visit,  and  the  string  of  pearls  to  wind 
around  his  head  on  the  same  occasion,  all  of  which 
presents  were  from  our  sovereign,  the  emperc",  who 


*  Fva 

i^  .' 

^      '  '^n 

{',        >9 

'■\    ,  i 

^i*    I-; 

.-  ?        ; 

:      ■•    I      1 

;'M;' 

"r; 

242 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


s?l 


m 


.8 


a 


had  sent  them  to  Montezuma  in  token  of  friendship 
and  as  a  j  roof  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  held  him. 
Cortes  furdier  remarked  that  Teuthlille  should  inform 
us  where  and  when  he,  Cortes,  could  personally  have 
an  audience  with  the  monarch.  Teuthlille  accepted 
the  presents,  and  said  in  reply  that  his  master,  Monte- 
zuma, as  he  also  was  a  great  monarch,  would  in  turn 
be  equally  delighted  to  learn  somediing  about  our 
great  emperor;  that  he  would  hasten  to  lay  the  pres- 
ents before  him,  and  to  return  with  his  answer. 

"  Teuthlille  had  with  him  very  skillful  painters,  for 
there  were  such  in  Mexico,  and  he  ordered  them  to 
paint  the  portrait  and  entire  person  of  Cortes,  v\ith  the 
dress  he  wore ;  also  the  pictures  of  a'l  the  other  chief 
officers,  the  soldiers,  our  ships,  horses.  Dona  Marina, 
and  Aguilar,  our  two  dogs,  the  cannon,  the  balls, 

in  short,  every  thing  that  they  could  see  that  belonged 
to  us.  The  paintings  they  took  along  with  them  to 
show  to  their  monarch." 

After  an  absence  of  about  six  or  seven  days,  Teuth- 
lille returned,  as  Diaz  further  observes,  "  with  more 
than  a  hundred  Indium  porters,  all  heavily  laden, 
accompanied  by  a  great  Mexican  cacique,  who,  in 
countenance,  stature,  and  deportment,  greatly  resem- 
bled Cortes,  and  on  that  account  had  been  selected  by 
his  monarch  to  accompany  the  deputation.  For,  as  it 
was  related,  when  Teuthlille  presented  the  picture 
representing  Cortes,  all  the  grandees  "ho  were 
present  with  their  monarch,  Montezuma,  immediately 
observed  that  he  resembled  a  person  of  distinction 
named  Quintalbor.  This  was  the  same  person  who 
now  accompanied  Teuthlille.  We  therefc  "  called  one 
the  Cortes  of  this  place,  and  the  other  the  Cortes  of 
that  place.     We  mu=t  ho\^\  ;  jv,,-,  °r,  tell  what  the  em- 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


bassadors  did  when  they  came  into  the  presence  of 
Cortes.  First  of  all  they  touched  the  ground  at  his 
feet  with  their  hands.  They  then  perfumed  him  and 
all  the  Spaniards  who  were  present,  with  pans  made 
of  clay.  Corles  gave  them  a  very  cordial  reception, 
and  desired  them  to  sit  down  at  his  side.  Quintalbor, 
the  cacique,  was  commissioned  to  discuss  matters  joint- 
ly with  Teuthlille.  The  two,  therefore,  told  Coites 
that  he  was  most  welcome  to  visit  their. country,  and 
after  considerable  talking  on  both  sides,  they  produced 
the  presents"'  sent  him  by  Montezuma.  As  is  further 
related  by  the  Spanish  historian,  Juan  de  Torquemada, 
a  contemporary  of  Diaz,  "  the  embassador  of  Monte- 
zuma ordered  mats  to  be  spread  on  the  ground  before 
Cortes,  and  over  them  some  cotton  cloth,  on  which  he 
arranged  the  presents,  comprising  many  cotton  shirts, 
and  great  quantities  of  other  cotton  stnffs,  beautifully 
manufactured,  and  interwoven  with  feathers  of  the 
most  splendid  colors.  There  were  shields  made  of 
the  purest  white  stuffs,  decorated  with  feathers,  gold, 
silver,  and  pearls,  surpassing  everything  in  beauty  and 
skilled  workmanship  that  ever  was  seen.  There  was 
also  a  helmet,  tastefully  .carved  .out  of  wood,  filled  with 
grains  of  gold  ;  also  a  casque,  made  of  thin  plates  of 
gold,  decorated  with  tassels,  and  with  stones  resembling 
the  emerald.  There  were  numerous  large  bunches  of 
feathers  of  different  colors,  set  in  silver  and  gold ; 
fans  for  keeping  off  flies,  made  of  the  rarest  feathers ; 
a  thousand  lockets  of  gold  and  silver  of  the  most  curious 
and  beautiful  workmanship  ;  bracelets  and  military 
decorations  of  gold  and  silver,  splendidly  embossed 
with  green  and  bright  yellow  feathers  ;  leather  made 
of  deer  skin,  curried  and  colored  in  the  best  possible 

'  Historia  verdadera  de  la  conquista  de  la  Nueva  EspaRa.    Diaz.     cap. 
xix-xxxix. —  Vid<  The  memoirs  of  the  conquistador.  Lockhart.  chap,  xxx-xxxix. 


!-■ 


!i 


'  :, 


If 


1 

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244 


DISCOVEkiES  OF  AMERICA. 


■'  i 


manner ;  shoes  and  sandals  of  the  same  leather, 
sewed  with  thin  gold- wire,  and  the  soles  of  beautiful 
white  and  blue  stone.  There  were  other  kinds  of 
shoes,  very  tastefully  made  of  cotton  ;  mirrors  of  mar- 
casite,  globuic ••-shaped,  of  the  size  of  one's  fist,  and 
most  ingeniously  set  in  gold,  the  small  frame  itself 
being  very  valuable,  and  worthy  of  tiie  acceptance  of 
any  crowned  head  ;  coverings  and  curtains  to  beds, 
manufactured  of  variously  colored  cotton,  more  glossy 
and  Oi  a  finer  texture  than  silk  ;  a  number  of  other  gold 
and  silver  trinkets  ;  a  necklace  of  gold,  decorated  with 
more  than  a  hundred  emeralds,  rubies,  and  various  pr- 
namen*-s  of  gold  ;  a  second  necklace  of  many  large 
pearls  and  emeralds,  all  of  the  most  exquisite  work- 
manship ;  numerous  gold  trinkets  in  the  shape  of  frogs 
and  animals  ;  jewels  in  the  form  of  medals.  The  cases 
were  even  more  valuable  than  the  precious  stones  they 
contained.  There  was  also  a  quantity  of  large  and 
small  grains  of  gold.  The  most  valuable  of  these 
presents,  however,  were  two  round  plates,  one  of  gold, 
on  which  was  a  sun  with  rays  and  the  zodiac.  This 
weighed  more  than  one  hundred  marks.'  The  other 
plate  was  of  silver,  which  in  a  similar  manner  repre- 
sented the  moon.  It  weighed  about  fifty  marks.  The 
two  disks  were  massive  and  of  the  thickness  of  the 
Spanish  coin  of  four  silver  reals,  and  as  large  as  car- 
riage-wheels. Those  who  saw  these  splendid  presents 
said  that,  without  considering  the  beautiful  workman- 
ship, the  value  of  the  gold  and  silver  alone  amounted 
to  twenty-five  thousand  castetlanos  de  oro ;  so  that  the 
full  value  o'all  these  presents  may  rightly  be  estimated 
at  fifty  thousand  ducats."  " 

'"The  Castiiian  mark  weighs  3557 English  troy  grains." — The  universal 
cambist.     Kelly,     vol.  i,     pp.  391,  292.   . 

Primera  parte  de  los  veinte  Ivn  libros  rituales  i  monarchia  Indiana  com- 


v\ 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AxMERICA. 


245 


"  When  Quintalbor,  the  great  cacique,  and  Teuth- 
lille,  presented  these  gifts  to  Cortes,"  as  Diaz  further 
relates,  "  they  begged  him  to  accept  of  them  in  the 
same  spirit  of  friendship  with  which  their  monarch 
sent  them,  and  to  distribute  them  among  his  teules.^ 
Thereupon  they  began  to  tell  what  their  monarch  had 
particularly  commissioned  them  to  say,  which  was  as 
follows  :  '  He,  Montezuma,  was  delighted  with  the 
arrival  of  such  courageous  men  in  h's  provinces,  for, 
according  to  the  accounts  he  had  received,  and  judging 
from  the  occurrence  at  Tabasco  [where  Cortes  had  had 
an  engagement  with  the  natives],  we  certainly  must  be 

puesto  por  Juan  de  Torquemada.     En  Madrid,  1723.     lib.  iv.    cap,  xvil.    fol. 

389.  390. 

"  The  ducat  of  exchange  (dtuadc  de  plata)  is  worth  il  reals,  maravedi  of 
old  plate,  or  20  reals  25  J f  maravedis  vellon.  *  *  *  The  valuo  of  the 
ducat  of  plate  in  English  silver  coin  is  \s,  t\d.  [or  one  dollar  and  one  cent  in 
United  States  moneyj.  " — The  universal  cambist.    Kelly,    vol.  i.     pp.  38S-392. 

Diaz  ^.ves  this  description  of  the  presents  :  "  The  first  was  a  disk  about 
the  sizf.  ot  a  carriage-wheel,  representing  the  sun,  the  entire  plate  being  of  the 
finest  gold  aad  of  the  most  beautiful  workmanship, — a  most  extraordinary  work 
of  art,  which,  according  to  the  account  of  those  who  weighed  it,  was  worth  more 
than  twenty  thousand /«oj  de  oro.  The  second  was  a  disk,  even  larger  than 
the  former,  of  massive  silver,  representing  the  moon,  with  rays  and  figures  on 
it,  and  of  great  value.  The  third  was  a  casque,  filled  with  grains  of  pure  gold 
as  they  were  found  in  the  mine,  worth  about  three  thousand /Mt;^,  which  gold 
was  of  more  importance  to  us  than  if  it  had  been  ten  times  this  value,  for  we 
were  now  assured  that  there  were  rich  gold-mines  in  the  country.  Among  the 
other  presents  there  were  thirty  golden  clucks  in  every  way  resembling  the  living 
fowl,  very  elaborately  made.  Besides,  there  were  figuies  of  lions,  tigers,  dogs, 
and  monkeys.  There  were  also  ten  chains  with  lockets,  all  of  gold,  and  of  the 
most  cosily  workmanship  ;  a  bow  with  the  string  and  twelve  arrows  ;  two  staffs 
like  those  used  by  justices,  five  palms  in  length  ;  all  of  which  were  made  of  the 
purest  gold.  They  also  brought  small  cases  containing  the  most  beautiful  green 
feathers,  interwoven  with  gold  and  silver,  and  fans  similarly  made,  and  figures 
of  all  kinds  of  game  made  of  gold." 

Peter  Martyr,  who  had  inspected  the  presents,  says  :  'Si  quid  uvquam 
honoris  humana  ingenia  in  hiiiuscemodi  artibits  sunt  adepla,  principatum  ittre 
merito  isia  consequentur.  Aurum,  gemmasque  non  admiror  quidem,  qua  indus- 
tria,  quove  studio  superet  opus  materiant,  stupeo.  Mille  figuras  et  fades  mille 
prospexi  quae  scribera  nequeo.  Quid  oculos  hominum  sua  pukhritudine  aequt 
possit ttlHcere tneo iudiciovidinunquam, — De  Orbe  Novodecades.  dec.  L  cap.  xi. 

'  Teulcs,  according  to  Diaz,  meant  gods  or  celestial  beings. 


I- ' 


:  PI 


y^ 


246 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


brave  men.  He  wished  very  much  to  see  our  great 
emperor  who  was  so  powerful,  of  whom,  although 
residing  at  so  great  a  distance,  he  had  already  gained 
some,  knowledge,  and  he  would  send  him  a  present  of 
some  valuable  sto'ics.  He  was  likewise  ready  to 
furnish  us  with  every  thing  we  might  require  during 
our  stay,  Respecting  Cortes  visiting  him,  the  under- 
taking should  not  engage  our  thoughts,  for  it  was  not 
necessary,  and  would  be  attended  with  great  diffi- 
culties.' 

"  Cortes  thanked  them  most  sincerely  for  their 
kindness,  gave  each  several  shirts  made  of  Holland 
linen,  some  blue  beads,  and  other  trifles,  and  requested 
them  when  they  returned  to  their  great  monarch  to 
tell  him  that  our  emperor  and  master  would  deem  it 
very  unkind,  after  we  had  come  from  such  distant 
countries  and  crossed  such  vast  seas,  solely  with  the 
intention  of  paying  our  respects  to  Montezuma,  if  we 
returned  without  accomplishing  this  object.  He 
wished,  therefore,  to  proceed  to  his  residence,  and 
to  receive  personally  his  commands.  The  embassadors 
answered  that  they  wcaild  convey  these  messages  to 
their  monarch,  and  that  a  visit  to  him  was  unnecessary. 
Cortes  thereupon  gave  them  out  of  our  poverty  a  cup 
of  Florentine  workmanship,  gilded  and  ornamented 
with  wreaths  of  leaves  in  relief,  and  the  shirts  made  of 
Holland  linen,  and  other  things,  all  of  which  were  to 
be  presented  to  Montezuma,  together  with  Cortes's 
message.  The  two  emissaries  then  departed,  while 
Quitlalpitoc  alone  remained  behind  in  our  camp,  com- 
missioned, as  it  appeared,  by  the  two  other  officials  of 
Montezuma,  to  provide  provisions  for  us  from  the 
neighboring  districts. 

"After  the  Mexican  embassadors  had  taken  their 


ti 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


247 


departure,  Cortes  ordered  two  vessels  to  sail  farther 
northward  and  explore  the  coast.  The  command  of 
these  was  given  to  Francisco  de  Montejo,  with  orders 
to  follow  the  same  course  taken  by  Grijalva.  *  *  * 
Montejo  departed,  and  sailed  to  the  Rio  Grande,  near 
Panuco,  as  far  as  we  had  gone  with  Grijalva.  Oa 
account  of  the  strong  currents  he  could  not  proceed 
any  farther.  He  therefore  returned  to  San  Juan  de 
Ulua.     *     *     * 

"  One  morning  the  Indians,  who  had  dwelt  near  us 
in  huts,  and  had  furnished  us  with  provisions  and 
brought  gold  to  barter,  secretly  departed  with  Quidal- 
pitoc.  This,  we  subsequently  learned,  was  done  by 
the  orders  of  Montezuma.  He  had  forbidden  all  inter- 
course with  Cortes,  believing  that  he  was  obeying  the 
commands  of  his  idol-gods.  These  were  named  Tetz- 
catiipuca  and  Huitzilopochtli  ;  the  former  being  the 
god  of  hell,  and  the  latter  the  god  of  war,  to  whom 
MontL'Zunui  daily  Hacrificed  a  number  of  children  in 
order  that  the  gods  might  disclose  to  him  what  he 
should  do  with  us.  He  intended  to  take  us  prisoners 
should  we  not  re-embark — employing  some  to  educate 
children,  and  sacrificing'  the  others.  His  idol  gods,  as 
we  afterward  learned,  advised  him  not  to  listen  to 
Cortes,  and  to  pay  no  attention  to  the  message  that 
we  had  sent  him  respecting  the  cross  and  the  image  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin.  This  was  what  caused  his  men  to 
go  away  so  secretly. 

"  This  being  the  condition  of  affairs,  we  daily  ex- 
pected that  hostilities  would  begin,  and  we  were 
therefore  the  more  vigilant.  It  happened  one  day, 
while  I  was  standing  sentinel  on  the  sand-hills  with 
another  soldier,  that  we  espied  five  Indians  coming 
along  the  shore.     Not   to  alarm  the  camp  with  so 


ill 


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248 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


triflingr 


a  matter,  we  allowed  them  to  advance.  They 
all  appeared  very  good-humored,  made  their  obeisance 
to  us  after  their  fashion,  and  requested  us,  by  signs,  to 
conduct  them  to  the  camp.  Thereupon  I  said  to  my 
companion  :  '  1  will  take  them  there,  while  yoii  remain 
where  you  arc,*  for  at  that  time  my  legs  were  not  so 
infirm  as  they  are  now,  in  my  old  age.  When  I  pre- 
sented them  to  Cortes,  they  manifested  the  utmost 
reverence,  and  continually  repeated  the  word  Lopcliicio, 
Lopelucio,  which  in  the  Totonac  language  means  lord, 
great  god.  In  dress  and  language  these  people 
differed  entirely  from  the  Mexicans  whom  Montezuma 
had  sent  to  our  camp.  They  had  large  holes  bored  in 
their  under-lips,  in  which  they  wore  pieces  of  a 
speckled,  blue  stone,  or  thin  plates  of  gold.  The  holes 
in  their  ears  were  quite  large,  from  which  depended 
similar  ornaments.  Neither  Aguilar  nor  Dona  Marina 
understood  their  language.  The  k.tter  asked  them 
whether  there  were  any  7iae,yavatos  or  interpreters 
with  them.  Thereupon  two  of  them  answered  that 
they  understood  the  Mexican  language.  Then  the 
talking  began.  They  bid  us  welcome,  and  said  that 
their  ruler  had  sent  them  to  inquire  who  we  were,  and 
that  he  w^^uld  be  delighted  to  be  of  any  use  to  such 
powerful  men  as  we  were.  They  said  that  they  would 
have  waited  on  us  earlier,  if  they  had  not  shunned  the 
people  of  Culhua,  namely,  the  Mexicans  (meaning  as 
much  as  villains),  who  had  been  with  us.  It  is  likely 
that  these  people  had  heard  of  our  battles  at  Tabasco 
and  Potonchan.  They  at  leapt  knew  that  the  Mexi- 
cans had  secretly  departed  from  us  three  days  before 
this  time.  Cortes  learned  many  things  from  them 
which  were  of  the  greatest  importance  to  him,  particu- 
larly the  information  respecting  the  enemies  and  oppo- 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


249 


nents  of  Montezuma.  Cortes,  therefore,  was  very 
friendly  to  these  people.  He  gave  them  a  number  of 
presents,  and  desired  them  to  return  to  their  ruler  and 
to  tell  him  that  '^e  would  in  person  shortly  visit  him." 

The  indonii  ...jle  commander  now  advanced  north- 
ward along  the  coast  as  far  as  Chiahuitzla,  near  the 
roadstead  wher  •  his  ships  were  anchored.  A  short 
distance  from  this  place  Cortes  began  to  build  the  city 
to  which  he  gave  the  na  ne  Villa  Ric:  de  Vera  Cruz 
(the  Rich  Town  of  the  True  Cross).  From  the  port  of 
the  new  city,  Cortes,  on  the  twent  sixth  of  July,  Siq, 
dispatched  a  ship  to  Spain,  under  the  command  of 
Alon!}o  Puertocarrero  and  Francisco  de  Montejo,  car- 
rying letters  to  the  emperor,  Charles  V.,  with  accounts 
of  the  invasion  of  New  Spain.  With  these  communi- 
cations were  sent  some  of  the  presents  that  Cortes  had 
received,  besides  several  cotton  and  agave -scrolls  of 
Mexican  hierogylphics.  "  Our  agents  took  charge  of 
the  letters,"  Diaz  remarks,  "  and  were  bound  by  a 
promise  not  to  touch  at  the  Havannah  under  any  pre- 
text whatever,  or  to  enter  tht-  harbor  of  El  Marien, 
where  Francisco  de  Montejo  had  possessions.  This 
was  done  in  order  that  Diego  Velasquez  might  not 
receive  any  intelligence  of  our  movements." 

The  resolute  c  Ificer,  having  ordered  his  ships  to 
be  destroyed,  began  about  the  middle  of  August  his 
march  toward  the  city  of  Mexico,'  with  his  small  band 
of  about  five  hundred  followers,  fifteen  horsemen,  and 
seven  pieces  of  artillery.  He  took  with  him  thirteen 
hundred  native  warriors  from  Cempoalla,  besides  a 
thousand  porters  to  transport  the  camp-baggage,  pro- 
visions, and  munition. 

'  From  Villa  Rica  de  Vera  Cruz  to  the  city  of  Mexico  the  distance  was 
about  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles.  By  the  route  of  the  Mexican  rail- 
road the  distance  from  the  present  city  of  Vera  Cruz  to  the  city  of  Mexico  is 
two  hundred  and  sixty-three  miles. 


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250 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


In  the  province  of  Xocotlan  the  invaders  came  to 
an  Indian  town  called  by  the  Spaniards  Castilblarco, 
governed  by  a  cacique  who  was  subject  to  Montezuma. 
The  hospitable  ruler  described  to  Cortes  the  situation 
of  the  city  of  Mexico,  which  was  built  on  an  island 
surrounded  by  water,  and  approachable  on  foot  by 
three  bridged  causev.ays. 

"A  certain  place  m  this  province,"  says  Diaz,  •'  I 
shall  never  forget.  Here  a  vast  number  of  human 
skulls  were  piled  in  the  best  manner  imaginable. 
There  must  have  been  more  than  one  hundred  thou- 
sand ;  I  repeat,  more  than  one  hundred  thousand.  In 
the  same  orderly  way  the  remaining  human  bones 
were  piled  in  another  corner  of  the  square.  The  latter 
it  would  have  been  impossible  to  count.  Besides  these 
bones  there  were  human  heads  hanging  from  beams 
on  both  sides  of  the  square."  On  the  first,  second,  and 
fifth  days  of  September,  near  the  village  of  Tehuaca- 
cinco,  Cortes  had  victorious  engagements  with  the 
Tlascallans. 

"  It  also  happened,"  Diaz  further  remarks,  "  that 
the  powerful  king  of  Mciico,  Montezuma,  either  in  the 
great  goodness  of  his  heart,  or  because  he  began  to 
fear  our  approach  to  his  metropolis,  dispatched  five 
men  of  distinction  to  our  camp  in  the  province  of 
Tlascalla  to  congratulate  us  on  our  advance,  and  fco 
assure  us  of  the  great  delight  he  felt  when  he  heard  of 
the  splendid  victories  we  had  gained  over  such  large 
armies.  This  message  was  sent  with  a  valuable  pres- 
ent of  gold  trinkets,  differently  elaborated,  worth  about 
one  thousand  /fesos,  and  also  packages  of  cotton  stuffs, 
as  much  as  twenty  men  could  carry.  He  also  wished 
us  to  know,  that  it  was  his  desire  to  become  a  subject 
of  our  emperor,  that  he  was  greatly  pleased  to  learn 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


251 


that  we  were  so  near  his  metropolis,  and  that  he  was 
every  way  well-disposed  toward  Cortes  and  all  the 
ietdes,  his  brothers.  He  likewise  wished  to  be  told  by 
us  what  annual  tribute  in  gold,  silver,  jewels,  and  cot- 
ton stuffs  he  v/as  to  forward  to  our  great  emperor, 
which  tribute  would  save  Uo  the  trouble  of  coming  tc 
Mexico,  adding  that  he  should  indeed  be  pleased  to 
see  us,  but  that  our  march  would  be  a  hazardous  un- 
dertaking through  a  sterile  and  rocky  country,  and  that 
the  fatigues  which  we  should  have  to  undergo  grieved 
him  the  more  when  he  considered  how  impossible  it 
was  for  him  to  remove  the  hindrances  from  the  way." 
Cortes  shortly  afterward  marched  into  the  city  of 
Tlascalla,  where,  when  they  entered  it,  "  the  streets 
and  balconies  could  scarcely  contain  the  number  of 
men  and  women "  who  welcomed  them.  "  Delight 
was  depicted  on  every  countenance,"  and  "  twenty 
baskets  full  of  roses  "  were  "  presented  to  Cortes  and 
the  soldiers,  whom  the  citizens  thougiit  were  officers, 
and  particularly  to  those  who  were  on  horseback." 
Here  Cortes  v.^as  told  by  one  of  the  principal  men  of 
the  place  "  that  Montezuma  had  strong  garrisons  In 
every  town,  besides  the  warriors  who  marched  out 
from  the  metropolis  to  the  field  of  battle.  Every 
province  was  compelled  to  pay  him  tribute  In  gold, 
silver,  feathers,  precious  stones,  cotton  stuffs,  as  well 
as  Indians  of  both  sexes,  some  of  whom  he  took  Into 
his  service,  Lnd  some  he  sacrificed.  He  was  a  mon- 
arch so  po\yerrul  and  wealthy  that  he  accon^plished 
and  obtained  all  he  desired.  His  palaces  were  filled 
with  riches  and  chakhihuis  stones,'  which  he  seized 
wherever  he  went.  In  short,  all  the  wealth  of  the 
country  was  in  his  possv,ssion." 

'  A  stone  of  a  I'ght  green  color.  ;      .    ./.  .  .     .      .,       . 


if 


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f; 


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r-  si 


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Ui 


252 


DISCOVERIES  OF  i^MERICA. 


Cortes  was  further  told  that  the  city  of  Mexico 
"  was  abundantly  supplied  with  fresh  water  from  the 
spring  of  Chapultepec,  which  was  about  two  miles 
from  the  city,  whence  the  water  was  partly  conveyed 
to  the  houses  by  means  of  pipes,  and  partly  in  boats 
through  the  canals,  when  it  was  sold  in  small  quanti- 
ties to  the  inhabitants.  Respecting  the  weapons  of 
this  nation,  they  included  two-edged  lances  that  were 
projected  by  means  of  a  thong  and  penetrated  any 
cuirass.  The  warriors  were  excellent  marksmen  wich 
the  bow  and  arrow,  and  carried  pikes  with  blades  of 
flint,  which  were  very  ingeniously  made,  and  were  as 
sharp  as  razors.  Besides  these  weapons,  they  carried 
shields,  and  wore  cotton  cuirasses.  There  was  also  a 
great  number  of  slingers,  who  were  provided  with 
round  stones,  long  pikes,  and  sharp  swords  which  were 
wielded  with  both  hands. 

"  To  explain  all  these  things,  the  caciques  ex- 
hibited large  pieces  of  neguen,^  on  which  were  pic- 
tured their  battles  and  their  art  of  warfare.  When 
Cortes  and  we  considered  that  we  had  gained  suffi- 
cient information  concerning  these  things,  the  conver- 
sation turned  to  subjects  of  greater  importance.  Our 
friends  told  us  how  and  whence  they  came  into  this 
country,  and  how  they  settled  there  ;  how  it  had  hap- 
pened, notwithstanding  their  nearness  to  the  Mexi- 
cans, that  they  resembled  them  so  little,  and  lived  in 
perpetual  warfare  with  each  other.  A  tradition  was 
also  handed  down  from  their  forefathers  that  in 
ancient  times  a  race  of  men  and  women  lived  here 
who  were  immense  in  stature  with  large  bones,  and 
who  were  a  very  bad  and  evil-disposed  people, 
whom  they  had  mostly  exterminated  by  continual  war, 

--    •  Papor  made  from  the  leaves  of  the  maguey  or  ogave-plant. 


I 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


253 


and  the  few  that  had  been  spared,  had  in  the  course 
of  time  died. 

"  In  order  to  give  us  a  conception  of  the  huge 
frames  of  these  people,  they  dragged  forth  a  bone,  or 
rather  a  thigh-bone,  of  one  of  the  giants,  which  was  very 
strong,  and  measured  the  length  of  a  man  of  good 
stature.  This  bone  was  still  entire  from  the  knee  to 
the  hip-joint.  I  measured  it  with  my  own  person,  and 
found  it  to  be  of  my  own  length,  although  I  am  a  man 
of  considerable  height.  They  showed  us  many  similar 
pieces  of  bones,  but  they  were  all  worm-eaten  and  de- 
cayed. We,  however,  did  not  doubt  for  a  moment, 
that  the  country  was  once  inhabited  by  giants.  Cortes 
remarked  that  we  ought  to  forward  these  bones 
to  his  majesty  in  Spain  at  the  very  earliest  oppor- 
tunity." 

Montezuma  again  sent  embassadors  to  Cortes 
bearing  presents.  They  said  "  that  their  monarch 
could  not  but  feel  astonished  that  we  "  as  Diaz  re- 
lates, "  had  made  so  long  a  stay  among  a  poor  and 
uncivilized  people,  who  were  not  fit  for  slaves,  but  so 
viciously  disposed,  so  treacherous  and  thievish,  that 
some  day  or  night  when  we  least  apprehended  it  they 
would  kill  us  merely  for  the  sake  of  plunder.  Monte- 
zuma begged  us  to  visit  his  city,  where,  at  least,  we 
might  enjoy  the  good  things  it  offered,  even  though 
these  should  be  tslow  our  deserts,  and  not  equal  to 
what  he  could  wish.  *  *  *  Cortes  thanked  the 
embassadors  in  a  very  flattering  manner  for  their 
civilities  and  the  expressions  of  friend -ihip  they  had 
conveyed  to  him  from  their  monarch,  and  he  desired 
them  to  tell  their  sovereign  that  in  a  short  time  he 
would  pay  his  respects  to  him."     •  ;  •    .    ;       ,  ; 

At  Cholula,  to  which  Cortes  next  marched,  a  plot 


IS: 


•p 


254 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


.H 


was  concocted  to  kill  the  Spaniards,  but  being  warned, 
they  were  on  their  guard  and  severely  punished  the 
inhabitants  for  their  treacherous  conduct."  Describing 
the  city,  Diaz  says  :  "Cholula  had  more  than  a  hundred 
very  high  towers,  they  were  all  cues  or  temples,  in 
which  human  sacrifices  were  offered  and  idols  stood. 
The  principal  temple  was  even  higher  than  the  one  in 
the  city  of  Mexico,  though  the  latter  was  really  mag- 
nificent and  very  high.  The  temple  [at  Cholula]  is 
said  to  have  contained  one  hundred  courts,  and  an 
idol  of  enormous  dimensions,  (the  name  of  which  I 
have  forgotten),  which  was  in  great  repute,  and  people 
came  from  various  places  to  sacrifice  human  beings  to 
it  and  bring  offerings  for  the  dead.  I  well  remember 
when  we  first  entered  the  city  and  beheld  the  elevated 
white  temples,  how  the  whole  place  reminded  us  all  of 
Valladolid.'  *  *  *  j  must  add  a  word  or  two  re- 
specting the  wooden  cages  we  saw  in  this  city.  They 
were  constructed  of  heavy  timber,  and  filled  with  grown 
men  and  little  boys,  who  were  fattening  for  the  sacri- 
fices and  feasts.  Cortes  ordered  these  diabolical  cajjes 
to  be  pulled  down,  and  sent  the  prisoners  to  their 
homes." 

While  Cortes  was  on  his  way  to  the  city  of  Mexico 
from  Cholula,  another  embassy  from  Montezuma  met 
him,  bringing  him  again  presents  of  gold  and  cotton 
fabrics.  Montezuma  desired  the  embassadors  to 
express  his  regrets  for  the  many  hardships  which 
Cortes  was  compelled  to  endure  on  his  wearisome 
journey  to  see  his  person,  that  he  would  send  to  the 
port  on  the  coast  a  great  quantity  of  gold,  silver,  and 
jewels  for  the  emperor,  that  he  would  present  Cortes 

'Cortes  conjectured  th^  city  contained  twenty  thousand  houses.  The 
temple  of  Quetzalcoatl  was  built  on  a  terraced  mound  about  two  hundred  feet 
high,  and  was  reached  by  ascending  one  hundred  and  twenty  steps. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


255 


himself  with  four  loads  of  gold,  and  one  load  for  each 
of  his  companions,  but  that  he  forbade  him  to  enter 
the  city  of  Mexico,  as  all  his  troops  were  under  arms 
to  oppose  him.  "  On  this  occasion  "  says  Diaz,  "Cortes 
again  told  the  embassadors  that  he  was  surprised  that 
their  sovereign,  who  had  called  himself  our  friend  so 
often  and  was  so  powerful  a  monarch,  should  so  fre- 
quently change  his  mind,  to  desire  a  thing  one  day 
and  not  want  it  the  next.  Respecting  the  presents  of 
gold  for  our  emperor  and  ourselves,  Cortes  told  them 
that  we  were  thankful  for  Montezuma's  kind  inten- 
tions, and  also  for  the  gifts  they  brought  with  them, 
and  that  he  would  certainly  some  day  render  their 
monarch  valuable  services  in  return.  He  asked  them 
if  it  were  right  after  we  had  advanced  within  so  short 
a  distance  of  the  metropolis  to  return  home  without 
fulfilling  our  monarch's  commission.  He  said  that 
Montezuma  should  place  himself  in  our  position  and 
consider,  had  he  sent  embassadors  to  a  monarch  of  his 
own  rank,  whether  he  would  be  pleased,  if  they  re- 
turned home  after  going  almost  to  his  palace  without 
seeing  that  monarch  or  fulfilling  their  commission  to 
him.  *  *  *  Therefore  he  begored  that  their  mon- 
arch  would  not  thereafter  send  any  more  embassadors 
with  such  messages.  Cortes  further  said  that  he  was 
determined  to  see  and  speak  to  Montezuma  per- 
sonally, and  to  inform  him  of  the  object  of  our  mission. 
All  that  we  asked  was  only  an  audience,  for  the 
moment  our  stay  in  his  metropolis  became  irksome  to 
him  we  would  depart  and  return  to  the  place  whence 
we  had  come.  *  *  *  With  this  answer  Cortes 
sent  the  embassadors  back  to  their  monarch,  and  we 
continued  our  march.     *     *     * 

"  After  Montezuma  learned  our  answer  to  his  mes- 


It  '! 


I 


rt 


^ 


256 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


sage  he  dispatched  his  nephew,  Cacamatzin,  prince  of 
Tezcuco,  to  us,  in  great  pomp  to  bid  us  welcome. 
*  *  *  j'l-jg  conference  being  ended,  we  continued 
our  march.  We  were  accompanied  by  the  caciques 
and  their  numerous  attendants,  besides  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  neighborhood,  who  had  come  to  meet  us, 
so  that  we  could  hardly  move  for  the  vast  crowds  of 
people. 

"  The  next  morning  we  reached  the  broad  high 
road  of  Iztapalapan,  from  which  we  for  the  first  time 
beheld  the  number  of  cities  and  villages  built  in  the 
lake  [of  Tezcuco],  and  the  still  greater  number  of  large 
towns  on  the  main-land  and  along  the  level  causeway, 
which  ran  in  a  straight  line  to  the  city  of  Mexico. 
Our  astonishment  was  exceedingly  great,  and  we  could 
not  but  remark  to  one  another,  that  all  the  buildings 
resembled  the  fairy  castles  of  which  we  read  in  Amadis 
of  Gaul ;  so  high,  majestically,  and  splendidly  did  the 
temples,  towers,  and  houses  of  the  city,  all  built  of 
massive  stone  and  lime,  rise  above  the  water  of  the 
lake.  Indeed,  many  of  our  men  believed  what  they 
saw  was  the  creation  of  a  dream.  And  the  reader 
must  not  be  surprised  at  the  manner  in  which  I  have 
expressed  myself,  for  it  is  impossible  to  speak  com- 
posedly of  things  which  we  have  never  before  seen  or 
heard  of,  or  could  have  dreamed  of.  *  *  *  We 
now  entered  the  city  of  Iztapalapan,  where  we  were 
quartered  in  palaces  of  large  dimensions  surrounded 
by  spacious  courts,  and  built  of  hewn  stone,  cedar,  and 
other  sweet-scented  wood.  All  the  apartments  were 
curtained  with  cotton  drapery.   >^,^      ■      :,  : 

"  After  we  had  seen  all  these  things  we  visited  the 
gardens  adjoining  the  palaces,  which  were  so  exceed- 
ingly attractive  that  I  could  not  gratify  myself  enough 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


257 


by  walking  about  in  them  and  contemplating  the  num- 
ber of  trees  which  exhaled  the  most  delightful  odors, 
and  the  rose-bushes,  the  different  flower-beds,  and  the 
fruit-trees  which  stood  along  the  paths.  Here  was  a 
pond  of  fresh  water  connected  with  the  lake  by  a  small 
canal.  The  canal  was  constructed  of  stone  of  different 
colors,  and  decorated  with  numerous  figures,  and  was 
wide  enough  to  hold  the  largest  canoes.  In  the  basin 
various  kinds  of  water-fowl  were  swimming  to  and 
fro,  and  every  thing  was  so  charming  and  so  beautiful 
that  we  could  find  no  words  to  express  our  astonish- 
ment. *  *  *  J3y|.  ^Q^  there  is  not  a  vesticre  of  all 
these  things  remaining,  and  not  a  stone  of  the  beauti- 
ful city  left  in  its  place.  *  *  *  Iztapalapan  was  a 
city  of  considerable  magnitude,  built  partly  in  the 
water  and  partly  on  the  land.  Its  site  is  now  all  dry 
land,  and  where  vessels  once  sailed  to  and  fro  seeds 
are  sown  and  harvests  gathered.  Indeed,  the  whole 
face  of  the  country  is  so  completely  changed  that  he 
who  had  not  seen  these  places  previously,  would  hardly 
believe  that  waves  had  once  rolled  over  the  spot  where 
fertile  maize-plantations  are  now,  so  wonderfully  has 
every  thing  been  changed  here  in  a  short  space  of 
time. 

"  On  the  following  morning  we  left  Iztapalapan,  ac- 
companied by  all  the  principal  caciques  already  men- 
tioned. The  road  on  which  we  marched  was  ei^ht 
paces  wide,  and,  if  I  rightly  remember,  ran  straight 
to  the  city  of  Mexico.  Notwithstanding  the  breadth 
of  the  causeway  it  was  much  too  narrow  for  the  great 
throngs  of  people  that  were  constantly  arriving  from 
different  places  to  gaze  at  us,  and  we  could  hardly 
move  forward.  Besides  the  tops  of  all  the  temples  and 
towers  were  crowded  with  spectators,  and  below  them 


\l 


k 


'■.a 


!■■  ■' 


I  t 


I'    ^i 


'^ !  .; 


il 


il 


258 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


the  lake  was  covered  with  canoes  filled  with  Indians, 
for  all  the  people  were  eager  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  us. 
And  who  can  wonder  at  this  curiosity,  for  neither  men 
like  us  no-  horses  had  ever  been  seen  here  before. 

*'  When  we  surveyed  all  this  splendor  we  scarcely 
knew  what  to  think,  and  we  doubted  whether  all  that 
v.e  beheld  were  real.  A  succession  of  large  cities 
stretched  along  the  banks  of  the  lake  [of  Tezcuco], 
from  which  much  larger  ones  rose  magnificently  above 
the  water.  Innumerable  canoes  were  plying  near  us. 
At  regular  intervals  we  crossed  new  bridges,  and  be- 
fore us  lay  the  great  city  of  Tenustitlan  Mexico  in  all 
its  grandeur. '  Aijd  we,  who  were  beholding  this 
spectacle,  who  were  passing  through  this  dense  con- 
course of  human  beings,  were  a  mere  handful  of  men, 
in  all  four  hundred  and  fifty,  our  minds  filled  with  the 
warnings  of  the  inhabitants  of  Huexotzinco,  Tlascalla, 
and  Tlaimanalco,  and  the  caution  they  had  given  us 
not  to  expose  our  lives  to  the  treachery  of  the  Mexi- 
cans. I  ask  the  kind  reader  to  reflect  a  moment,  and 
then  to  say  whether  he  believes  any  men  in  this  world 
ever  attempted  so  bold  an  undertaking. 

"  When  we  had  arrived  at  a  place  where  another 
narrow  causeway  led  toward  Cojohuacan  we  were  met 
by  a  number  of  caciques  and  distinguished  personages, 
all  attired  in  rich  raiment.  They  had  been  dispatched 
by  Montezuma  to  meet  us  and  bid  us  welcome  in  his 
name.  As  a  manifestation  of  their  good-will  they 
touched  the  ground  with  their  hands  and  kissed  it. 
We  now  halted  for  a  few  minutes  to  permit  the  princes 

*  The  name  of  the  city  is  written  Tenustitlan  Mexico  by  Diaz.  It  is 
spelled  Tenuchtitlan  Mexico  by  some  Spanish  writers. 

"  In  the  spelling  of  the  names  of  Indian  chie's,  the  townships,  and  of  the 
provinces,  we  have  mostly  followed  Torquemada,  who  is  considered  more  cor- 
rect on  this  point,  for  he  lived  fifty  years  in  New  Spain." — The  memoirs  of  the 
conquistador.     Lockhart.     Preface,    vol,  i.    p.  vi. 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


259 


ifi 


of  Tezcuco,  Iztapalapan,  Tlacupa,  and  Cojohuacan,  to 
get  in  advance  to  meet  Montezuma,  who  was  slowly 
approaching,  surrounded  by  other  grandees  of  the  king- 
dom, seated  in  a  splendid  portable  chair.  When 
we  arrived  at  a  place  near  the  city,  where  there 
were  several  towers,  the  monarch  raised  himself 
in  his  chair,  supported  by  a  number  of  distinguished 
caciques,  who  held  over  his  head  a  canopy  of  very 
great  value,  decorated  with  green  feathers,  gold,  silver, 
chalchihuis  stones  and  pearls.  The  bordering  of  the 
canopy  ornamented  with  these  things  was  exceedingly 
attractive. 

"  Montezuma,  according  to  his  habit,  was  richly 
attired.  His  half  boots  were  profusely  decorated  with 
jewels,  the  soles  were  of  solid  gold.  The  four  grandees 
who  supported  him  were  also  richly  clad.  They  must 
have  put  on  this  clothing  somewhere  on  the  road, 
before  they  went  to  attend  Montezuma,  for  they  were 
not  so  magnificently  dressed  when  they  first  came  to 
meet  us.  Besides  these  distinguished  caciques,  there 
were  many  other  grandees  around  the  monarch,  some 
of  whom  held  the  canopy  over  his  head  while  others 
again  occupied  the  road  before  him,  and  spread  cot- 
ton cloths  that  his  feet  might  not  touch  the  bare 
ground.  No  one  of  his  attendants  ever  looked  at 
him  full  in  the  face.  Every  one  in  his  presence  stood 
with  eyes  downcast,  and  it  was  only  his  four  nephews 
and  cousins,  who  supported  him,  that  dared  to  look  up. 

"  When  it  was  announced  to  Cortes  that  Montezu- 
ma was  approaching,  he  alighted  from  his  horse  and 
advanced  to  meet  him.  Many  compliments  passed 
between  them.  Montezuma  welcomed  Cortes,  who, 
through  Dofia  Marina,  said,  in  turn,  that  he  hoped  his 
majesty  was  in  good  health.   If  I  still  remember  rightly, 


t::j 


I; 


\ 


•;.■ 


II 


26o 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


iJ,i 


Cortes,  who  had  Dofia  Maiina  next  to  him,  wished  to 
concede  the  place  of  honor  to  the  monarch,  who,  how- 
ever, would  not  accept  of  it,  but  yielded  it  to  Cortes, 
who  then  took  a  necklace  of  precious  stones  of  very 
beautiful  colors  and  shapes,  strung  upon  gold  wire  and 
perfumed  with  musk,  and  placed  it  on  the  neck  of  Mon- 
tezuma. Our  commajider  was  then  about  to  embrace 
him,  but  the  grandees,  who  surrounded  Montezuma, 
held  back  Cortes's  arms,  for  they  considered  the  act 
improper.  Our  general  then  desired  Dofia  Marina  to 
tell  the  monarch  that  he  [Cortes]  congratulated  him- 
self exceedingly  on  his  good  fortune  of  having  seen  so 
powerful  a  monarch  face  to  face,  and  to  thank  him  f o  • 
the  honor  of  coming  to  meet  us.  Montezuma  replied 
in  very  appropriate  words,  and  ordered  his  t.vo 
nephews,  the  princes  ofTezcuco  and  Cojohuacan,  to 
conduct  us  to  our  quarters.  He  then  returned  to  the 
city,  accompanied  by  his  two  other  relatives,  the  princes 
of  CuiUahuac  and  Tlacupa,  and  the  other  grandees  of 
his  large  retinue.  As  they  passed,  we  observed  how 
all  those  who  composed  his  majesty's  escort  held  their 
heads  bent  forward,  no  one  daring  to  lift  up  his  eyes  in 
his  presence,  and  also  the  deep  veneration  with  which 
he  was  regarded.     *     *     * 

"  We  were  quartered  in  a  large  building  where  there 
was  room  enough  for  us  all.  *  *  *  Near  it  were 
temples  and  Mexican  idols.  This  building  had  been 
purposely  selected  for  us  because  we  were  termed 
teules,  or  were  thought  to  be,  and  that  we  might  dwell 
amonq^  the  gods  as  among  our  equals.  The  apart- 
ments and  halls  were  very  spacious,  and  those  set 
apart  for  our  general  were  furnished  with  carpets. 
Each  one  of  us  had  a  separate  bed,  which  could  not 
have  been  better  furnished  for  a  gentleman  of  the  first 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


261 


rank.  Each  apartment  was  swept  clean,  and  the  walls 
were  newly  plastered  and  decorated. 

"  When  we  had  entered  into  tlie  great  court-yard  of 
this  palace,  Montezuma  came  to  Cortes,  and,  taking 
him  by  the  hand,  conducted  him  to  the  apartments 
where  he  was  to  lodge,  which  had  been  prettily  deco- 
rated after  the  fashion  of  the  country.  He  then  hung 
about  his  neck  a  chased  necklace  of  gold,  most  curi- 
ously wrought  with  figures  of  crabs.  The  Mexican 
grandees  were  greatly  amazed  at  all  these  uncommon 
favors  which  their  monarch  bestowed  upon  our  gen- 
eral. 

•'  Cortes  returned  the  monarch  many  thanks  for  so 
much  kindness,  and  the  latter  took  leave  of  him  with 
these  words :  '  Malinche,'  you  and  your  brothers 
must  now  do  as  if  you  were  at  home,  and  take  some 
rest  after  the  fatigues  of  the  journey.'  He  then  re- 
turned to  his  palat  ,  which  was  near."  This  wai'  on 
the  eighth  of  November,  iSig.  Later  in  the  day 
Montezuma  again  visited  Cortes,  and  held  a  long  con- 
versation with  him.  On  the  following  day  Cortes  had 
an  audience  with  Montezuma  in  his  palace. 

'*  The  mighty  Montezuma,"  Diaz  further  observes, 
"  may  have  been  about  this  time  in  the  fortieth  year  of 
his  age.  He  was  tall,  slender,  and  thin  ;  but  his  body 
was  well-proportioned.  His  complexion  was  not  very 
brown,  almost  the  same  as  that  of  the  inhabitants. 
His  hair  was  not  long,  excepting  where  it  hung  thickly 
over  his  ears,  which  were  hid  by  it.  His  black  beard, 
though  thin,  was  handsome.  His  face  was  somewhat 
long,  but  he  had  a  cheerful  countenance,  and  his  fine 

•This  name,  says  Diaz,  was  given  to  Cortes  "because  our  interpreter, 
Dofia  Marina,  was  always  near  him,  particularly  when  embasr.adois  crrived, 
and  in  our  negotiations  with  the  different  caciques  she  interpreted  for  both 
parties.  They  therefore  called  him  the  captain  of  Marina,  and  contracted  that 
appellation  into  the  word  Malinche." 


iA  , 


■I 


fi: 


i 


262 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


I 


eyes  had  an  expression  cf  amiability  or  of  ill-will 
according  to  his  humor.  He  was  particularly  clean  in 
appearance,  and  took  a  bath  every  evening.  -  Besides 
a  number  of  concubines,  who  were  all  daughters  of 
note  and  rank,  he  had  two  lawful  wives  of  royal  ex- 
traction, whom,  however,  he  visited  secretly  without 
any  one  daring  to  observe  him,  except  his  most  confi- 
dential servants.  *  *  *  jj^  ^.j^g.  j^^jjg  adjoining  his 
private  apartments  there  was  always  a  guard  of  two 
thousand  men  of  high  station  in  waiting,  with  whom, 
however,  he  never  held  any  conversation  unless  to  give 
them  orders  or  to  receive  some  intelligence  from  them. 
*  *  *  In  cold  weather  when  he  dined  a  large  fire  was 
made  of  the  charcoal  of  the  bark  of  trees,  which  emitted 
no  smoke  but  a  delightful  perfume.  That  his  majesty 
might  not  feel  any  discomfort  from  the  heat  of  the  fire, 
a  screen  was  placed  betv^  ^n  him  and  it,  made  of  gold, 
and  adorned  with  the  ^  lerent  figures  of  their  gods. 
The  chair  on  which  he  sat  was  somewhat  low.  It  was 
filled  with  soft  cushions  and  beautifully  carved.  The 
table  was  higher,  and  suited  to  the  seat.  The  former 
was  covered  with  white  cloths,  one  of  which  was  large. 
Four  very  neat  and  pretty  women  held  before  the 
monarch  a  round  pitcher,  called  by  them  xicales, 
filled  with  water  to  wash  his  hands.  The  water  was 
caught  in  other  vessels,  and  then  the  young  women 
presented  him  with  towels  to  dry  his  hands.  Two  other 
women  brought  hin?  maize-bread  baked  with  eggs. 
Before  Montezuma  began  to  dine,  a  wooden  screen, 
elaborately  gilded,  was  placed  before  him,  that  no  one 
might  see  him  while  eating.  Then  the  young  women 
stood  at  a  distance.  Four  elderly  men  of  high  rank 
came  to  his  table,  whom  he  addressed  from  time  to 
time  or  asked  them  some  question.     Sometimes  he 


will 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


263 


would  offer  'hem  a  plate  of  his  food,  which  was  consid- 
ered a  mark  of  great  favor.  The  gray -haired,  aged 
men,  that  were  so  highly  honored,  were,  as  we  subse- 
quently learned,  his  nearest  relatives,  his  most  trust- 
wort'' y  counsellors,  and  chief  justices.  Whenever  he 
ordered  any  viands  to  be  given  them,  they  ate  stand- 
ing with  the  greatest  reverence,  not  daring  to  look  at 
him  full  in  the  face.  The  dishes  in  which  the  food  was 
served  were  of  variegated  and  black  porcelain,  made  at 
Cholula.  While  the  monarch  was  at  table  his  courtiers 
and  those  who  were  waiting  in  the  adjoining  halls 
maintained  strict  silence.     *     *     * 

"  Sometimes  during  dinner  he  had  ugly  hump- 
backed dwarfs  to  act  as  buffoons  and  perform  antics 
for  hi'j  amusement.  At  other  ti.nes  he  had  jesters 
to  enliven  him  with  their  witticisms.  Others  again 
danced  and  sung  before  him.  Montezuma  took  great 
delight  in  these  entertainments,  and  ordered  the 
broken  victuals  and  pitchers  of  cacao-liquor  (choco- 
late) to  be  distributed  among  the  performers.  When 
he  had  dined  the  four  women  took  away  the  cloths 
and  brought  him  v/ater  to  wash  his  hands.  During 
this  interval  he  conversed  a  little  with  the  four  old 
men,  and  t^en  left  the  table  to  enjoy  his  afternoon- 
sleep. 

"  After  the  monarch  had  dined,  dinner  was  served 
for  the  men  on  duty  and  the  other  officers  of  his  house- 
hold. I  often  counted  more  than  one  thousand  dishes 
on  the  table  of  the  kinds  already  mentioned.  Then 
followed,  according  to  the  Mexican  custom,  the  froth- 
ing jugs  of  cacao-liquor,  as  many  as  two  thousand, 
after  which  came  different  kinds  of  fruit  in  great  abun- 
dance. Then  the  women  dined  who  superintended 
the  baking  department,  and  those  who  made  the  cacac- 


264 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


liquor,  with  the  young  women  who  waited  upon  the 
monarch.     *     *     * 

"  Besides  these  servants  were  many  butlers,  house- 
stewards,  treasurers,  cooks,  and  superintendents  of 
maize- magazines.  *  *  *  j  j^^^j  almost  forgotten 
to  mention,  that  while  the  monarch  dined  two  other 
young  women  of  great  beauty  brought  him  small 
cakes,  as  white  as  snow,  made  of  eggs  and  other 
nourishing  ingredients,  on  plates  covered  with  clean 
napkins  ;  also  a  long-shaped  loaf  made  of  very  sub- 
stantial things,  and  pachol  (a  wafer-cake).  They  then 
brought  him  three  beautifully  painted  and  gilded  tubes 
filled  with  liquid-amber  and  an  herb  called  by  the  In- 
dians tabaco.  After  the  dinner  had  been  removed  and 
the  singing  and  dancing  ended,  one  of  these  tubes  was 
lighted.  The  monarch  drew  the  smoke  into  his  mouth, 
and  after  he  had  done  this  a  short  time  he  would  fall 
asleep. 

"  At  this  time  a  celebrated  cacique,  whom  we  railed 
Topia,  was  Montezum.a's  chief  steward.  He  kept  an 
account  of  the  whole  of  Montezuma's  revenue,  in  large 
books  of  paper  which  the  Mexicans  called  amatl.  A 
house  was  filled  with  these  Lr.^e  account-books. 

"  Montezuma  had  also  two  arsenals  filled  with  arms 
of  all  kinds,  many  of  which  were  ornamented  with  gold 
and  precious  stones.  The  arms  comprised  shields  of 
different  sizes,  swords,  and  a  broad-sword  v/ielded  with 
both  hands,  the  edge  of  flint  so  extremely  sharp  that 
the  swords  cut  much  better  than  our  Spanish  ones. 
There  were  also  lances,  longer  than  ours,  pointed  at 
t1  ;  end,  a  fathom  long,  set  with  several  sharp  flints. 
1  le  pikes  are  so  very  sharp  and  hard  that  they  will 
pierce  the  strongcot  shield,  and  cut  like  a  razor ;  so 
that  the  Mexicans  even  shave  themselves  with  these 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


265 


flints.  There  were  also  excellent  bows  and  arrows, 
pikes  with  single  and  double  points,  and  suitable  thongs 
to  project  them  ;  slings,  with  round  stones  purposely 
made  for  them ;  also  large  shields,  so  ingeniously  made 
that  they  could  be  rolled  up  when  not  wanted.  These 
shields  are  unrolled  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  com- 
pletely cover  the  whole  body  from  the  head  to  the 
feet  We  also  saw  a  great  many  kinds  of  cuirasses 
made  of  quilted  cotton,  which  were  adorned  on  the 
outside  with  soft  feathers  of  difterent  colors,  and  looked 
like  uniforms.  We  also  saw  morions  and  helmets  con- 
structed of  wood  and  bones,  adorned  with  feathers. 
There  were  artificers  always  at  work,  who  continually 
augmented  this  store  of  arms  ;  itnd  the  arsenals  were 
under  the  care  of  certain  persons,  who  also  superin- 
tended the  manufacturing  departments.     *     *     * 

"  I  will  now  advert  to  another  subject,  and  acquaint 
my  readers  with  the  fine  arts  of  the  Mexicans.  I  will 
first  speak  of  the  sculptors,  and  the  gold  and  silver- 
smiths who  were  skillful  in  working  and  smelting  gold. 
The  latter  would  have  astonished  the  most  celebrated 
of  our  Spanish  goldsmiths.  They  were  many,  and  the 
most  expert  lived  at  a  place  called  Ezcapuzalco,  about 
four  miles  from  Mexico.  The  next  in  proficiency  were 
very  skillful  masters  in  cutting  and  polishing  precious 
stones  and  the  calchihuis  stone,  which  resembles  the 
emerald.  These  were  followed  by  the  great  masters 
in  painting,  and  the  decorators  in  feathers,  and  the 
v/onderful  sculptors.  Even  now  there  are  still  living 
in  Mexico  three  Indian  artists,  named  Marcos  de 
Aguino,  Juan  de  ia  Cruz,  and  El  Crespello,  who 
severally  have  attained  so  high  a  place  in  the  art  of 
painting  and  sculpture,  that  each  may  be  compared  to 
an  Apelles,  or  to  our  contemporaries,  Michael  Angelo 
and  [Alonso]  Berruguette. 


1  ».! 


% 


266 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


"  The  women  were  remarkably  skillful  in  weaving 
and  embroidery,  and  they  made  quantities  of  the 
finest  stuffs,  interwoven  with  feathers.  The  common 
stuffs  for  daily  use  came  from  certain  districts  in  the 
province  of  Costatlan,  which  lay  on  the  north  coast, 
not  far  from  Vera  Cruz,  where  we  first  landed  with 
Cortes. 

"  The  concubines  in  the  palace  of  Montezuma,  who 
were  all  daughters  of  distinguished  men,  were  em- 
ployed in  manufacturing  the  most  beautiful  stuffs,  inter- 
woven with  feathers.  Similar  fabrics  were  made  by 
certain  women  who  dwelt  secluded  in  cloisters  as  our 
nuns.  *  *  *  Montezuma  had  in  his  service  a 
great  number  of  stone-cutters,  masons,  and  carpenters, 
who  were  only  employed  about  the  royal  palaces.  Here 
I  must  not  forget  to  speak  of  his  gardens  for  the 
cultivation  of  flowers,  trees  and  vegetables,  of  which 
there  were  various  kinds.  In  these  gardens  were 
many  baths,  wells,  basins,  and  ponds  full  of  limpid  water, 
which  regularly  ebbed  and  flowed.  These  gardens 
were  made  more  attractive  by  innumerable  species  of 
small  birds,  which  sang  among  the  trees.  The  gardens 
of  medicinal  plants  and  vegetables  may  also  be  men- 
tioned. They  were  cultivated  by  a  large  body  of  gar- 
deners. All  the  baths,  wells,  ponds  and  buildings  were 
substantially  constructed  of  stone,  as  were  also  the 
theatres  where  the  singers  and  dancers  performed. 

•*  We  had  been  four  days  in  the  city  of  Mexico," 
Diaz  further  remarks,  "  and  neither  our  commander 
nor  any  of  us  had,  during  this  time,  left  our  quarters, 
except  to  visit  the  gardens  and  buildings  adjoining 
the  palace.  Cortes  therefore  determined  to  view  the 
city,  and  to  visit  the  great  market  and  the  chief  temple 
of  Huitzilopochtli.     He  accordingly  sent  Geronimo  de 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


267 


^1  , 


Aguilar,  Dona  Marina,  and  one  of  his  pages,  named 
Orteguilla,  who,  by  this  time,  understood  a  little  of  the 
Mexican  language,  to  Montezuma,  to  request  his  per- 
mission to  inspect  the  different  buildings  of  the  city. 
Montezuma  readily  granted  us  permission  to  go  where 
we  pleased,  although  he  was  apprehensive  that  we 
might  intentionally  injure  the  one  or  the  other  of  his 
idols.  He  therefore  determined  to  accompany  us  with 
som.e  of  his  principal  officers,  and,  for  this  purpose,  left 
his  palace  with  a  showy  retinue.     *     *     * 

"  Our  commander,  attended  by  the  greater  part  of 
our  horsemen  and  foot-soldiers,  all  well  armed,  as  we 
were  at  all  times,  proceeded  to  the  Tlatelulco.  By  com- 
mand of  Montezuma,  a  number  of  caciques  met  us  on 
our  way  thither.  When  we  arrived  in  this  immense 
market,  we  were  greatly  astonished  to  see  the  vast 
number  of  people,  the  profusion  of  merchandise  ex- 
posed for  sale,  and  the  admirable  police- system,  and 
the  order  that  everywhere  existed.  The  grandees 
who  accompanied  us  drew  our  attention  to  the  smallest 
circumstance,  and  gave  us  an  explanation  of  all  we 
saw.  Each  class  of  merchandise  had  a  separate  place 
for  its  sale.  We  first  visited  those  divisions  of  the 
market  set  apart  for  the  sale  of  gold  and  silver  wares, 
jewels,  cloths  interwoven  with  feathers,  and  other 
manufactured  goods,  where  also  slaves  of  both  sexes 
were  sold.  The  slave-market  was  upon  as  great  a  scale 
as  the  Portuguese  market  for  negro  slaves  at  Guinea. 
To  prevent  the  slaves  from  running  away,  they  were 
fastened  by  halters  around  their  necks,  though  some 
were  allowed  to  walk  at  large.  Next  to  these  divisions 
were  the  dealers  in  coarser  wares,  cotton,  twisted 
thread,  and  cacao.  In  short,  all  kinds  of  commodities 
produced  in  New  Spain  [Yucatan  and  Mexico]  were 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 

here  to  be  found.  The  market  reminded  me  of  my 
native  town  of  Medino  del  Campo  at  fair-time,  where 
each  kind  of  merchandise  has  a  separate  street  as- 
signed for  its  sale.  In  one  place  were  sold  the  stuffs 
manufactured  of  ncquetiy  as  ropes  and  sandals.  In 
another  place,  the  sweet  maguey  root,  ready-cooked, 
was  offered  for  sale,  and  various  other  things  made 
from  this  plant.  In  another  part  of  the  market  were 
exposed  the  skins  of  tigers,  lions,  jackals,  otters,  red 
deer,  wild  cats,  and  of  other  animals  of  prey.  Some 
of  the  skins  were  tanned.  A  particular  space  was 
assigned  to  the  venders  of  fowls,  turkeys,  ducks,  rab- 
bits, hares,  deer,  and  dogs ;  also  a  space  to  the  fruit- 
seiiers,  pastry-cooks,  and  tripe- mongers.  Not  far  from 
these  were  exposed  all  kinds  of  earthenware,  from  the 
largest  jars  to  the  smallest  pitchers.  Next  were  the 
dealers  in  honey  and  honey-cakes,  and  other  sweet- 
meats. Next  to  these  were  the  timber-merchants,  fur- 
niture-dealers, with  assortments  of  tables,  benches, 
cradles,  and  all  kinds  of  wooden  implements,  all  sepa- 
rately arranged.  *  *  *  gyj.  ^]^y  should  I  so  mi- 
nutely detail  every  article  exposed  for  sale  in  this  great 
market  ?  If  I  enumerated  every  thing  singly,  I  should 
never  get  to  the  ei  \  of  the  list.  And  yet  I  have  not 
mentioned  the  paper,  which  in  this  country  is  called 
amatl,  the  tubes  filled  with  liquid-amber  and  tobacco, 
the  various  sweet-scented  salves,  and  similar  things,  or 
the  various  seeds  which  were  exposed  for  sale  in  the 
porticoes  of  this  market,  or  the  medicinal  herbs. 

"  In  the  market-place  there  were  courts  of  justice, 
to  which  three  judges  and  several  constables  were  ap- 
pointed, v/ho  inspected  the  goods  exposed  for  sale.  I 
had  almost  forgotten  to  mention  the  salt,  and  those 
who  made  the  flint- knives ;  also  the  fish,  and  a  kind  of 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


269 


bread  made  of  die  mud  or  scum  collected  I'rom  the  sur- 
face of  the  lake,  and  eaten  in  that  form,  and  which  has 
a  taste  similar  to  that  of  cheese.'  Besides,  there  were 
instruments  of  brass,  copper,  and  tin  ;  cups  and  painted 
pitchers  of  wood.     *     *     * 

"  On  our  way  to  the  great  temple,  while  passing 
through  the  court-yards  adjoining  the  market,  we  saw 
a  number  of  merchants,  who  dealt  in  gold-dust  as  it 
came  from  the  mines,  which  was  exposed  for  sale  in 
tubes  made  of  large  goose-bones,  so  thin  and  white 
that  the  gok  ,  shone  through  them.  The  value  of  these 
tubes  of  gold  was  estimated  according  to  their  length 
and  thickness,  and  were  taken  in  exchange  for  so 
many  mantles,  xiquipiles''  of  cacao- nuts, ^  slaves,  or  for 
other  merchandise. 

•'  On  quitting  the  market,  we  entered  the  spacious 
court-yards  surrounding  the  chief  temple.  These  ap- 
peared to  include  more  ground  than  the  market-place 
at  Salamanca,  and  were  inclosed  by  a  double  wall  con- 
structed of  stone  and  lime.  The  yards  were  paved 
with  large  white  flag-stones,  extremely  smooth,  and 
where  there  were  nc»ne,  a  brown  plaster  had  been 
used.  The  court-yards  were  kept  so  very  clean  that 
there  was  not  the  smallest  particle  of  dust  or  straw  to 
be  seen  anywhere. 

•  "  Before  we  ascended  the  steps  of  the  great  temple, 
Montezuma,  who  was  sacrificing  on  the  top  to  his 
idols,  sent  six  priests  and  two  of  his  principal  officers 
to  conduct  Cortes  up  the  steps.  There  were  one  hun- 
dred and  fourteen  steps  to  the  summit,  and  as  they 
feared  that  Cortes  would  experience  the  same  fatigue 

'  It  is  said  that  the  slimy  substance  mentioned  by  Diaz  was  called  tecuitlatl, 
the  excrement  of  stone.     It  was  variously  fashioned,  and  dried  in  the  sun. 

'  XiquipiUs,  according  to  Torquemada,  expressed  the  number  of  8,000  of 
any  thing. 

•  Cacao-beans  were  used  by  the  Mexicans  in  lieu  of  small  coin. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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in  mounting  as  Montezuma  had,  they  desired  to  assist 
him  by  taking  hold  of  his  arms.  Cortes,  however, 
would  not  accept  the  proffered  aid.  When  we  had 
reached  the  summit  of  the  temple,  we  walked  across  a 
platform  where  many  large  stones  were  lying,  on 
which  those  who  were  doomed  for  sacrifice  were 
stretched  out.  Near  these  stood  a  large  idol,  in  the 
shape  of  a  dragon,  surrounded  by  various  other  abomi- 
nable figures,  with  a  quantity  of  fresh  blood  in  front  of 

"  This  infernal  temple,  from  its  great  height,  com- 
manded an  extensive  view  of  the  surrounding  country. 
From  it  we  could  see  the  three  causeways  leading  to 
the  city, — that  one  from  Iztapalapan,  by  which  we  had 
entered  the  city  four  days  before  ;  that  one  from  Tla- 
cupa,  along  which  we  took  our  flight  eight  months 
after,  when  we  were  driven  out  of  the  city  by  the  new 
monarch,  Cuitlahuatzin ;  the  third,  the  one  from  Tepea- 
quilla.  We  also  saw  the  aqueduct,  which  extended 
from  Chapultepec,  and  supplied  the  city  with  fresh 
water.  We  could  also  distincdy  see  the  bridges  across 
the  openings  in  the  causeways,  through  which  the 
waters  of  the  lake  ebbed  and  flowed.  The  lake  was 
crowded  with  canoes  conveying  provisions,  manufac- 
tured articles,  and  other  merchandise  to  the  city. 
We  also  observed  that  the  only  means  of  intercourse 
between  the  houses  in  this  city,  and  between  those  of 
all  the  other  towns  built  in  the  lake,  was  by  draw- 
bridges or  canoes.  In  all  these  cides  the  beaudful 
white -plastered  temples  rose  above  the  smaller  ones, 
like  many  of  the  towers  and  castles  in  our  Spanish 
cities.  The  view  from  the  top  of  the  temple,  it  may  be 
imagined,  was  a  splendid  sight. 

"  After  we  had  sufficiendy  gazed  upon  this  mag- 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


271 


nificent  picture,  we  again  turned  our  eyes  toward  the 
great  market,  and  beheld  the  vast  number  of  buyers 
and  sellers  who  thronged  it.  The  bustle  and  noise 
caused  by  this  multitude  of  human  beings  was  so  great 
that  it  could  be  heard  at  a  distance  of  more  than  four 
miles.  Some  of  our  men,  who  had  been  at  Constanti- 
nople and  at  Rome  and  had  travelled  through  the 
whole  of  Italy,  said  that  they  never  had  seen  a  market- 
place of  such  large  dimensions,  or  which  was  so  well 
regulated,  or  so  crowded  with  people  as  this  one  in 
Mexico.     *     *     * 

"  We  were  conducted  to  a  small  temple  with  one 
room,  in  which  we  saw  two  bases  resembling  altars, 
decked  with  coverings  of  extreme  beauty.  On  each  of 
them  stood  a  gigantic,  bulky-looking  figure.  The  one 
on  die  right  hand  represented  the  god  of  war,  Huitzil- 
opochtli.  This  idol  had  a  very  broad  face  with  dis- 
torted and  terrible  eyes,  and  was  covered  with  jewels, 
gold,  and  pearls,  fastened  with  a  paste  made  from  a 
certain  root.  Large  serpents,  also,  covered  with  gold 
and  precious  stones,  wound  round  the  body  of  this 
monster,  which  held  in  one  hand  a  bow,  and  in  the 
other  a  bunch  of  arrows.  Another  but  smaller  idol, 
its  page,  standing  by  its  side  carried  the  monster's 
short  spear  and  golden ,  shield,  studded  with  precious 
stones.  Around  Huitzilopochtli's  neck  were  figures 
representing  human  faceb,  and  hearts  made  of  gold 
and  silver  and  decorated  with  blue  stones.  In  front 
of  him  stood  several  perfuming  pans  containing  copal, 
the  incense  of  the  country  ;  also  the  hearts  of  three 
Indians,  who  had  been  killed  that  day.  The  hearts 
were  consuming  before  him  as  a  burnt-ofifering.  The 
walls  of  the  temple  and  the  whole  floor  were  almost 
black  with  human  blood,  and  the  stench  was  highly 
ofiren?iive. 


(  ■( 


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272 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


■ 

I 


"  On  the  left  hand  stood  another  figure  of  the  same 
size  as  Huitzilopochtli.  Its  face  resembled  very  much 
that  of  a  bear.  Its  shining  eyes  were  made  of  tctzcat, 
the  reflecting-glass  of  the  country.  This  idol,  like  its 
brother  Huitzilopochtli,  was  covered  with  precious 
stones,  and  was  called  Tetzcadipuca.  This  was  the  god  of 
hell.  *  *  *  A  circle  of  figures  wound  round  its  body, 
resembling  diminutive  devils  with  serpents'  tailu.  The 
walls  and  floor  around  this  idol  were  also  besmeared 
with  blood,  and  the  stench  was  greater  than  that  of  a 
Spanish  slaughter-house.  Five  human  hearts  had  that 
day  been  offered  to  him.  On  the  very  top  of  this 
temple  stood  another  ;  the  wood-work  of  which  was 
exceedingly  elaborate  and  richly  carved.  In  this  tem- 
ple there  was  another  idol,  half  man  and  half  lizard, 
completely  covered  with  precious  stones  ;  half  of  this 
figure  was  hidden  from  view.  We  were  told  that  the 
concealed  half  was  covered  with  the  seeds  of  every 
plant  on  the  earth,  for  this  idol  was  the  god  of  seeds 
and  fruits.  *  *  *  in  the  temple  was  a  drum  of 
enormous  dimensions,  the  sound  of  which  was  so  deep 
and  solemn  that  it  was  appropriately  called  the  drum 
of  hell.  The  drum-head  was  made  from  the  skin  of 
an  enormous  serpent.  The  sound  of  the  drum  could 
be  heard  eight  miles.  The  platform  of  the  temple  was 
covered  with  a  variety  of  hellish  objects, — large  and 
small  trumpets,  great  slaughtering  knives,  the  burnt 
hearts  of  Indians  who  had  been  sacrificed, — every 
thing  being  clotted  with  coagulated  blood,  terrible  to 
view  and  filling  the  mind  with  horror.     *     *     * 

"If  I  remember  rightly,  this  temple  occupied  a 
space  of  ground  on  which  w*i  could  have  placed  six  of 
the  largest  buildings  commonly  found  in  our  country. 
The  building  had  the  form  of  a  pyramid,  on  the  sum- 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


273 


mit  of  which  was  the  small  temple  with  the  idols.  *  *  * 
"  Cortes  and  the  rest  of  us  at  last  grew  weary  with 
the  inspection  of  so  many  idols  and  the  implements 
used  for  sacrifices,  and  we  returned  to  our  quarters  ac- 
companied by  a  great  number  of  the  chief  men  and 
caciques,  whom  Montezuma  had  ordered  to  attend 
us. 

It  is  unnecessary  here  to  follow  farther  the  move- 
ments of  the  conquerors  {conquistadores)  of  New 
Spain.  The  beautiful  and  famous  metropolis  of  Mex- 
ico, twenty-two  months  after  Cortes  and  his  followers 
had  entered  it,  was  in  ruins,  filled  with  the  innumerable 
dead  bodies  of  its  heroic  defenders.  The  siege  of  the 
city  lasted  ninety-three  days,  ending  the  13th  of  Au- 
gust, 1 52 1.  When  the  terrible  drama  ended,  Cortes 
permitted  those  of  its  inhabitants  who  had  not  been 
killed,  starved,  or  stricken  with  disease,  to  leave  the 
charnel  city.  "  The  causeways,"  says  Diaz,  "  were 
crowded  for  three  days  and  nights  with  men,  women, 
and  children,  on  their  way  to  the  main-land.  These 
poor  beings  were  much  emaciated,  and  had  a  death- 
like appearance.  *  *  *  The  houses  were  found 
filled  with  dead  bodies.  *  *  *  The  soil  in  the 
city  looked  as  if  it  had  been  ploughed,  for  the  famished 
inhabitants  had  dug  every  root  out  of  the  ground,  and 
had  even  peeled  the  bark  from  the  trees  to  appease 
their  hunger.  We  did  not  find  any  fresh  water  in  the 
city,  for  that  in  all  the  wells  was  salty.  During  the 
horrible  famine  the  Mexicans  had  not  eaten  the  flesh 
of  their  countrymen,  although  they  greedily  devoured 
that  of  the  Tlascallans  and  Spaniards.  Certainly  no 
people  in  this  world  ever  suffered  so  much  from  hun- 
ger, thirst,  and  the  horrors  of  war,  as  the  inhabitants 
of  this  great  city."     As  the  emperor's  sh^re  of  the 


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i 


274 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


booty,  Cortes  sent  to  Spain  two  vessels  carrying 
eighty-eight  thousand  pesos  of  gold  in  bars,  and  the 
wardrobe  of  Montezuma.  "  The  latter,"  Diaz  observes, 
"  was  a  valuable  present,  and  well  worthy  of  our  great 
emperor's  acceptance,  for  it  embraced  jewels  of  the  great- 
est value,  pearls  of  the  size  of  hazel-nuts,  and  various 
precious  stones,  the  number  of  which  my  memory  will 
not  permit  me  to  designate.  At  the  same  time  were 
sent  the  bones  of  the  giants  which  we  found  in  the 
temple  of  Cojohuacan,  which  were  similar  to  those 
given  to  us  by  the  Tlascallans  that  we  had  previously 
sent  to  Spain."  '  '   • 

'  Ilistoria  verdadera  de  la  conquista  de  la  Nueva  Espafla.     Diaz.     cap. 
xxxix-clix. —  FtaSr  The  memoirs  of  the  conquistador.    Lockhart.    chap,   xxxix- 


1 ' 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

i5i8-j524. 

That  part  of  the  coast  of  the  continent,  now  in- 
cluded in  the  territory  of  the  states  of  Texas,  Louisi- 
ana, Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  the  westerly  portion  of 
Florida,  was  first  discovered  and  explored  by  Alonso 
Alvarez  de  Pineda.  The  fleet  which  this  Spaniard 
commanded  was  fitted  out  by  Francisco  de  Garay,  the 
wealthy  governor  of  the  island  of  Jamaica,  who  had 
accompanied  Columbus  to  the  New  World  in  1493. 
Bernal  Diaz,  in  his  history  of  the  conquest  of  New 
Spain,  thus  speaks  of  this  expedition  :  "  In  the  year 
i5i8,  when  the  report  of  our  having  discovered  this 
country,  under  Cordoba  and  Grijalva,  and  of  the  twenty 
thousand  pesos  which  came  into  the  hanu^  of  Diego 
Velasquez,  had  spread  through  the  whole  of  the  West 
Indies,"  and  when  Garay  "  received  information  of  a 
new  expedition  that  was  destined  for  New  Spain,  under 
Hernando  Cortes,  he  [Francisco  de  Garay]  was  seized 
with  a  great  desire  likewise  to  discover  some  new 
countries,  and  certainly  he  had  more  wealth  at  his 
command  than  we  to  fit  out  a  fleet  for  such  a  purpose. 
He  had  learned  considerable  about  the  riches  of  the 
new  countries  from  our  old  chief  pilot  Alaminos,  and 
how  thickly  populated  the  provinces  were  on  the  river 
Panuco ;  and  as  several  other  sailors,  who  had  accom- 
panied us  on  those  expeditions,  confirmed  what  Ala- 
minos had  told  him,  he  thought  that  it  was  to  his  ad- 

875 


P 

m 


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1 


276 


DISCOVERIES  O.'  AMERICA.   * 


vantage  to  request  his  majesty  to  grant  him  the  per- 
mission to  make  lurther  discoveries  on  the  river 
Panuco.  and  to  appoint  him  governor  of  all  the  lands 
he  should  discover.  For  this  purpose  he  dispatched 
his  major-domo,  Juan  de  Torralva,  to  Spain,  with  letters 
and  presents  for  those  who  at  that  time  administered 
the  affairs  of  the  Indies,  soliciting  them  to  procure  him 
the  appointment  mentioned. 

"  His  majesty  was  at  the  time  in  Flanders,  and  the 
president  of  the  council  of  the  Indies,  Don  Juan 
Rodriguez  de  Fcnseca,  bishop  of  Burgos  and  titular 
archbishop  of  Rosano,  with  the  two  licentiates  Zapata 
and  Vargas,  and  the  secretary  Lopez  de  Conchillos, 
managed  the  affairs  of  the  Indies  as  they  pleased. 
Garay  therefore  easily  obtained  the  appointment  of 
adelantado  and  governor  of  the  provinces  bordering 
on  the  river  San  Pedro  and  San  Pablo,  and  of  all 
the  countries  he  should  discover.  By  virtae  of  this 
appointment  he  fitted  out  three  vessels,  having  on 
board  two  hundred  ana  forty  men,  including  a  strong 
body  of  cavalry,  cross-bowmen,  and  musketeers.  The 
chief  command  of  this  fleet  he  gave  to  Alonso  Alvarez 
de  Pineda.' " 

It  is  further  related  that  the  explorers  set  sail  in 
1 5 19,  toward  "  the  peninsula  of  Florida,  in  twenty-five 
degrees  of  north  latitude,  for  Florida  appeared  to  them 
to  be  a  very  attractive  island,  and  they  thought  that  it 
was  better  to  settle  on  islands  than  on  the  main -land, 
because  they  could  more  easily  conquer  the  natives 
and  keep  them  in  subjection.  They  landed,  but  the 
peop'e  of  Florida  killed  so  many  of  them  that  they  did 
not  dare  to  settle  there.  They  then  sailed  along  the 
coast  and  came  to  the  river  of  Panuco,  five  hundred 

'  Historia  verdadera  de  la  conquista  de  la  Nueva  Espana.     Diaz,    cap,  Ix, 
dxil, —  yide  The  memoirs  of  the  conquistador.     Lockhart.    chap,  Ix,  clxii. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 

leagues  from  the  peninsula  of  Florida,  measured  on  a 
course  along  the  coast.  The  natives  attacked  them 
at  every  place.  Many  of  them  were  killed  at  Chila 
[near  the  mouth  of  the  river  Panuco],  where  the  natives 
flayed  and  eat  those  who  fell  into  their  hands,  and  hung 
up  the  skins  in  their  temples  to  commemorate  their 
valor." '  V  ; 

Diaz  further  observes  :  •'  While  we  v/ere  lying  at 
Villa  Segura,  Cortes  was  informed  by  letters  that  one 
of  the  vessels  which  Garay  had  fitted  out  for  the  pur- 
pose of  forming  settlements  on  the  river  Panuco  had 
arived  at  Vera  Cruz.  This  vessel  was  commanded 
by  a  certain  Comargo,  and  had  on  board  more  than 
sixty  soldiers,  who  were  all  in  bad  health,  with  their 
bodies  gree.tly  swelled.  This  Comargo  gave  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  unfortunate  termination  of  Garay 's  expe- 
dition to  the  river  Panuco. 

"  The  Indians  had  massacred  the  commander-in- 
chief,  Alonso  Alvarez  de  Pineda,  and  all  his  soldiers 
and  horses,  and  then  had  set  fire  to  his  vessels.  Co- 
margo alone  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  escape 
with  hij  men  on  board  of  one  of  the  vessels,  and 
had  steered  for  Vera  Cruz,  where  the  explorers  ar- 
rived half  famished,  for  they  had  not  been  able  to 
procure  any  provisions  from  the  enemy.  This  Co- 
margo, it  was  said,  had  taken  the  vows  of  the  order 
of  the  Dominicans. 

"  Comargo  and  his  men,  by  moderate  advances, 
at  last  arrived  at  Villa  Segura,  for  they  were  so 
weakened  that  they  could  scarcely  move  along.  When 
Cortes  saw  in  what  a  terrible  condition  they  were, 
he  commended  them  to  our  care,  and  showed  Co- 
margo and  all  his  men  every  possible  kindness.     If  I 

'  Tratado,  que  compOs  e  nobre  &  notnutl  capitiU)  Antonio  GaluSo. 


!  if 


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278 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


remember  rightly,  Comargo  died  soon  after,  and  also 
several  of  his  men."  * 

The  fields  of  the  explorations  of  Alonso  Alvarez 
de  Pineda,  Juan  de  Grijalva,  Francisco  Hernandez  de 
Cordoba,  and  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  are  represented  on 
a  traced  map  of  the  coast  of  the  continent  and  of  the 
new  lands  {traza  de  las  costas  de  tierra-Jirme  y  de  las 
'terras  nuevas),  made,  in  i52i,  to  define  the  limits  of 
the  jurisdictions  of  Juan  Ponce  Leon,  Francisco  de 
Garay,  and  Diego  Velasquez. ' 

On  the  peninsula  of  Florida,  delineated  on  the  map, 
is  inscribed  in  Spanish  :  "  Florida  called  Bimini,  which 
Juan  Ponce  discovered."  West  of  it  is  a  broken  line 
?.nd  thiS  inscription  :  "  As  far  as  this  Juan  Ponce  dis- 
covered." At  some  distance  farther  west  is  another 
line  of  limitation  and  this  explanation  :  "  From  here 
Francisco  Garay  began  to  discover."  West  of  this  is 
the  early  designation  of  the  Mississippi  River,  "  Rio  del 
Espiritu  Santo  "  (River  of  the  Holy  Spirit).  South- 
ward beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Panuco  River  is  a  third 
broken  line  and  the  inscription  :  "  As  far  as  this 
place  Francisco  de  Garay  discovered  toward  the  v^^est, 
and  Diego  Velazquez  toward  the  east  as  far  as  Cabo 
de  las  Higueras,  which  the  Pinzons  discovered,  and  the 
population  has  given  it  to  them." 

According  to  these  memoranda  and  the  statements 
of  Herrera,  the  Spanish  historian,  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon 

*  In  June,  1523,  Franci«co  de  Garay  sailed  with  a  fleet  and  a  large  numbei 
of  troops  from  Jamaica  to  take  possession  of  the  province  of  Panuco,  of  which 
lie  had  been  appointed  governor.  He  failed  to  accomplish  his  purpose,  and 
died  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  at  the  end  of  December,  1523.  Historia  venladera 
de  la  conquista  de  la  !Nueva  Espafia.  cap.  cxxxiii,  clxii.  Vide  The  memoirs 
of  the  conquistador.     Lockhart.     chap,  cxxxiii,  clxii. 

'  Coleccion  de  los  viages  y  descubrimientos.  Navarrete.  torn.  iii.  pp. 
64-69;  147-153. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


279 


explored  the  eastern  coast  of  Florida  from  La  Cruz, 
south  of  the  thirty-first  parallel,  to  a  point  on  the  south- 
western coast,  perhaps  as  far  as  Appalachee  Bay. 
Alonso  Alvarez  de  Pineda's  explorations,  it  would  seem, 
began  at  Appalachicola  Bay  and  ended  at  the  Panuco 
River. ' 

The  more  northerly  part  of  the  eastern  coast  of 
Florida  and  coast  of  the  present  state  of  Georgia  were 
inspected  by  the  officers  and  crews  of  two  vessels, 
equipped  in  1620  in  the  port  of  La  Plata,  San  Do- 
mingo, by  seven  citizens  of  that  island.  The  ships 
were  fitted  out  to  sail  among  the  Bahama  Islands  to 
kidnap  Indians  to  work  in  the  mines  and  on  the  plan- 
tations. Among  the  projectors  of  the  expedition  was 
Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon. '  When  the  kidnapers 
arrived  among  the  Bahama  Islands  they  found  them 
depopulated.  "  They  determined,"  it  is  said,  "  to  go 
farther  toward  the  north  to  search  for  a  new  country 

'  The  situation  of  certain  places  along  the  coast  of  the  present  states  of 
Florida,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas,  is  thus  described  by 
Gomara  :  "  From  Santa  Elena  to  Rio  Seco,  in  31°,  are  other  forty  leagues, 
and  thence  to  La  Cruz  are  twenty,  and  thence  to  CaRaveral,  forty  ;  and  from 
Punta  Canaveral,  in  28°,  are  other  forty  to  Punta  de  la  Florida  (the  peninsula 
of  Florida).  *  *  *  This  is  in  25°,  which  is  twenty  leagues  in  length,  and 
from  it  are  a  hundred  or  more  leagues  to  Ancon  bajo,  which  is  fifty  leagues 
from  Rio  Seco,  from  east  to  west,  across  Florida.  From  Ancon  bajo  they  esti- 
mate it  to  be  a  hundred  league?  to  Rio  de  Nievcs,  and  thence  to  that  of  Flores 
more  than  twenty,  from  which  river  it  is  seventy  leagues  to  the  Bay  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  (Daya  del  Espiritu  Sanclo),  called  by  another  name,  La  Culata  (the  breech 
of  a  gun),  which  river  flows  out  into  the  ocean  thirty  leagues,  and  is  in  29°,  and 
thence  it  is  mo'"  than  seventy  to  Rio  de  Pescadores.  From  Rio  de  Pescadores, 
in  23°  30',  ire  a  hundred  leagues  to  Rio  de  las  Palmas,  near  which  crosses  the 
tropic  of  Cancer  ;  thence  to  Rio  Panuco  are  more  than  thirty  leagues ;  and 
thence  to  Villa  Rica  or  Vera  Cruz,  seventy  leagues." — Primera  y  segunda  parte 
de  la  historia  general  de  las  Indias.     Gomara.     cap.  xii. 

*  Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon,  a  native  of  Toledo,  Spain,  was  one  of  the 
licentiates  appointed  by  King  Ferdinand  to  act  as  auditors  of  the  royal  court  of 
appeal  (audiencia),  aftervxrd  sitting  in  San  Domingo.  In  March,  1520,  Ayllon 
went  with  Pamfilo  de  iNarvaez  to  New  Spain,  who  was  sent  there  by  Diego 
Velasquez  to  administer  the  affairs  of  that  country.  When  Ayllon  landed  in 
Mexico  he  became  so  inimical  to  the  purposes  of  Velasquez  that  Narvaez  put 
himnndcr  arrest  and  sent  him  back  to  Cuba,  where  he  arrived  in  August,  1520. 


IM 


■\& 


28o 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


•  si 


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rather  than  return  without  any  slaves.  They  reached 
a  country  called  Chicora  and  Gualdape,  in  thirty-two 
degrees  of  north  latitude";  where  there  was  a  cape, 
afterward  called  Cabo  de  Santa  Elena  (Cape  of  Saint 
Helpn\  and  the  Rio  Jordan  (River  Jordan).' 

"  When  our  men  steered  toward  the  shore,"  Peter 
Martyr  relates,  "  the  inhabitants,  astonished  at  the 
sight  of  the  ships,  imagined  that  some  monster  was 
approaching.  In  order  to  satisfy  their  curiosity  they 
flc -ked  in  great  numbers  to  the  shore.  When  our 
people  were  about  to  land  with  their  boats  the  Indians 
ran  rapidly  away.  As  they  fled  our  men  pursued. 
Some  of  the  youngest  and  the  fastest  runners  overtook 
two  of  the  natives,  a  man  and  a  woman.  They  brought 
these  to  the  '^hips,  dressed  them,  and  gave  them  their 
liberty.  Impressed  by  this  evidence  of  good-will  the 
Indians  returned  in  crowds  to  the  beach.  The  king  of 
the  country,  learning  how  our  men  had  dealt  with  the 
man  and  the  woman,  and  seeing  the  new  and  costly 
garments  upon  them  (for  the  Indians  only  clothe  them- 
selves with  the  skms  of  lions  or  of  other  animals),  sent 
fifty  of  his  people  to  ours  bearing  the  productions  of 
the  country.  When  visited  by  our  people  he  was 
friendly  and  hospitable.  When  they  expressed  a 
desire  to  see  the  surrounding  country  he  gave  them 
guides  and  guards.  Wherever  they  went  the  inhab- 
itants came  reverently  to  them  with  presents  as  unto 
gods  to  be  adored,  especially  when  they  saw  them 
having  beards,  and  clothed  with  linen  and  silken  gar- 
ments. But  what!  The  Spaniards  violated  the  laws 
of  hospitality.      For  by   craft  and   various    cunning 

'  "  So  designated,"  says  Herrera.  "  because  Jordan  was  the  >aame  of  one  of 
the  captains  or  masters  of  the  ships." 

Primera  y  segunda  parte  de  la  historia  general  de  las  Indias.  Gomara. 
cap.  vii. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


38l 


device  .,  dfter  they  had  seen  al'  that  they  wished,  they 
so  managed  that  on  an  appointed  day  the  Indians 
visited  the  ships  to  inspect  them.  When  the  vessels 
were  crowded  with  these  innocent  people,  the  anchors 
were  weighed  and  the  sails  hoisted,  and  the  Indians 
were  carried  away  mourning  into  servitude.  Instead 
of  friends  they  made  the  people  of  those  regions 
enemies,  and  having  found  them  contented  they  left 
them  miserable,  having  taken  children  from  parents, 
and  husbands  from  wives.  Of  the  two  ships  one  only 
returned,  the  other  was  never  seen  again.  It  was  con- 
jectured that  all  on  board  were  drowned,  the  guilty 
and  the  guiltless,  for  it  was  an  old  ship.     *     *     * 

"  While  they  were  there  they  explored  the  two 
principal  regions,  Chicora  and  Duharhe.  *  *  * 
They  say  that  the  people  of  Chicora  are  half  black  or 
tawny  as  our  farmers  are,  burned  and  tanned  by  the 
sun.  The  men  allow  their  1->air  to  grow  long,  which 
often  extends  down  to  their  girdles.  The  hair  of  the 
women  is  much  longer.  Both  sexes  bind  up  their 
hair.  The  men  have  no  beards.  Whether  or  not  they 
are  so  naturally  or  so  by  art  is  unknown  ;  however, 
they  take  great  pride  in  having  smooth  faces.  *  *  * 
Leaving  Chicora  they  went  to  the  other  side  of  the 
bay,  and  took  possession  of  the  region  called  Du- 
harhe." 

Peter  Martyr  further  observes  that  Ayllon  had  been 
a  persistent  solicitor  at  the  court  of  Spain,  and  that  he 
wanted  to  obtain  letters-patent  to  go  again  to  these 
countries  "  to   plant  a  colony  there.'     *     *     *     Hq 

'  Ayllon,  in  1523,  was  made  governor  {adelantado)  of  the  provinces  and 
islands  of  Suache,  Chicora,  Xapira,  Tatancal,  Anicatiye,  Cocayo,  Guacaya, 
Xoxi,  Sona,  Pasqui,  Arambe,  Xamunambe,  Huag,  Tanzaca,  Yenyoho),  Paor, 
Yamiscaron,  Carixagusignanin  and  Anoxa,  that  were  said  to  lie  between  the 
thirty-fifth  and  thirty-seventh  parallels  of  north  latitude.  In  1524  it  is  said 
that  he  sent  two  ships  to  somc^  of  these  places.     In  July,  1526,  he  sailed  him- 


ii* 


't'^ 


If 

h 

I 


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\ 


282 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


y 


brought  one  of  the  natives  of  Chicora  with  him.  *  *  * 
While  he  remained  [in  Spain]  prosecuting  his  business, 
I  sometimes  had  Ayllon,  the  master,  and  the  Chicoran, 
his  servant,  as  my  guests.  The  Chicoran  is  not  a  dull 
person  nor  superficially  intelligent.  He  has  learned 
the  Spanish  language  passably  well.  The  things 
which  Ayllon  showed  me,  written  by  his  men  and  re- 
ported by  the  Chicoran,  that  are  strange  and  remark- 
able, I  will  relate.  *  *  *  Ayllon  says  the  natives 
there  [in  Duharhe]  are  white,  which  also  Franciscus, 
the  tawny  Chicoran,  asserts,  and  that  they  have  long 
yellow  hair  hanging  down  to  their  ankles. 

"  These  people  have  a  king  of  giant- like  proportions, 
called  Datha,  and  they  say  that  the  queen,  his  wife,  is 
not  much  smaller.     *     *     *     jj^jg  |.jj^g.  b^ji^g  asked 

why  he  and  his  wife  were  so  remarkably  tall  and  the 
other  people  not,  replied  that  their  height  was  not 
hereditary,  but  that  it  had  been  caused  by  violent 
treatment.  While  they  were  infants  in  the  charge  of 
nurses  their  parents  sent  for  those  practicing  the  art, 
who  anointed  their  limbs  for  a  number  of  days  with 
certain  decoctions  of  herbs  to  soften  their  tender 
bon'c:s,  which  in  time  became  as  pliable  as  lukewarm 
wax.  They  then  stretched  their  limbs,  often  leaving 
them  almost  dead.  Thereupon  the  nurses,  who  had 
been  fed  with  certain  strength-producing  meats,  suckled 

self  from  Espafiola,  with  six  vessels,  having  on  board  five  hundred  men  and 
ninety  horses.  Diego  Miruelo,  the  pilot  of  this  fleet,  it  is  said,  failed  to  find 
the  coast  of  Chicora,  which  he  had  visited  in  1520,  The  natives,  where  the 
Spaniards  landed,  manifested  toward  them  the  greatest  friendliness,  and  so  de- 
ceived Ayllon  with  their  unbounded  hospitality  that  he  sent  two  hundred  of  his 
men  into  the  interior  on  an  exploring  expedition.  While  they  were  sleeping 
the  savages  fell  upon  them  and  murdered  them  to  a  man.  They  then  attacked 
those  near  the  ships,  who,  being  outnumbered,  fled  before  their  assailants. 
One  hundred  and  fifty  escaped,  and  in  a  suffering  condition  returned  to  San 
Domingo.  It  is  further  related  that  Ayllon  died  on  the  eighteenth  of  October, 
1526. — Coleccion  de  |os  viages  y  descubrimientos.  Navarrete.  torn.  lii.  pp. 
69-74'}  153-160. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


383 


them,  the  infants  being  covered  with  warm  cloths. 
When  they  had  again  regained  their  vigor  the  practi- 
tioners again  twisted  and  pulled  their  bones  as  they 
had  previously  done.  This  treatment  was  repeated 
from  time  to  time  until  their  limbs  were  lengthened  so 
much  that  when  they  reached  maturity  they  had  the 
desired  tallness.     *     *     * 

"  There  is  another  region  near  Duharhe  called  Xa- 
pida.  In  it  they  say  pearls  and  a  precious  stone  re- 
sembling a  pearl  are  to  be  found,  which  the  natives 
highly  prize.  In  all  the  country  explored  by  them 
there  were  herds  of  deer  kept  like  cattle  with  us.  The 
deer  fawn  at  home,  and  there  they  also  rear  their 
young.  These  deer,  when  free,  wander  and  pasture  in 
the  woods  during  the  day  and  at  night  return  to  their 
young.  They  are  confined  in  pens  and  allow  them- 
selve  to  be  milked.  *  *  *  The  people  fatten  many 
kinds  of  fowl,  as  chickens,  ducks,  geese,  and  the  like. 
Their  bread  is  maize,  the  same  as  that  of  the  people  of 
the  islands.  *  *  *  The  grain  of  the  maize  is  like  our 
panic  of  Insubria,  [in  Italy,]  but  in  size  like  pease. 
They  sow  another  kind  of  corn  called  Xathi.  They 
believe  it  is  millet.  *  *  *  The  natives  have  several 
varieties  of  potatoes,  but  they  are  small.  *  *  *  The 
Spaniards  speak  of  many  regions  which  they  think  are 
under  the  government  of  one  and  the  same  king, — 
Hitha,  Xamunabe,  Tihe. 

"  In  this  country  they  say  there  is,  a  casttj  of  priests 
differing  from  the  people.  These  priests  are  held  in 
great  reverence  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding 
country.  The  natives  of  this  region  cut  their  hair, 
leaving  only  two  curled  locks  hanging  down  in  front  of 
their  ears,  which  locks  they  tie  under  their  chins.  The 
Spaniards  explored  many  regions  of  this  great  country, 


:'■■  i! 


i  ' 


m 


it 


'  .  ' 


284 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


\l 


which  tracts  they  called  Arambe,  Guacaia,  Quohathe, 
Tanzacca,  Pahor.  The  inhabitants  are  all  somewhat 
tawny  and  swart.  None  of  them  have  any  knowledge 
of  letters,  but  they  possess  many  traditions  -which  they 
preserve  and  relate  in  rhymes  and  songs.  They  exer- 
cise themselves  in  dancing  and  skipping,  and  find  much 
amusement  in  playing  ball,  for  they  are  very  nimble 
and  skillful.  The  women  sew  and  spin,  and  although 
for  the  iiiusc  part  they  are  dressed  in  the  skins  of  wild 
animals,  they  have  cotton  and  make  thread  from  the 
fibres  of  certain  tough  plants,  as  our  hemp  or  flax. 
There  is  another  region  called  Inzignanin."  ' 

According  to  Gomara's  geographical  description 
of  the  coast  of  North  America,  the  explorations  of  the 
Spaniards  who  discovered  Tierra  de  Ayllon  (the  Land 
of  Ayllon)  extended  from  the  Cape  of  St.  Helen,  in*  32°, 
northwardly  forty  leagues  to  the  River  Jordan.  If  Cape 
St.  Helen  were  a  point  of  land  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Combahee  River,  the  river  Jordan  was  hkely  the  Santee 
River,  in  South  Carolina. ' 

Among  the  most  renowned  of  the  various  maritime 
achievements  which  gave  great  fame  to  Spanish  enter- 
prise in  seeking  for  a  sea-path  to  Cathay  by  sailing 
toward  the  west,  was  that  of  the  circumnavigation 
of  the  globe  in  the  years  1 5 19-1522.  The  remarkable 
voyage  was  begun  by  Fernam  de  Magalhaens,  a 
Portuguese  navigator.  The  first  account  of  the  expe- 
dition was  written  by  Antonio  Pigafetta,  an  Italian 
chevalier,  who  accompanied  Magalhaens.  Pigafetta's 
connection  with  the  exploration  is  explained  by  him  in 
the  opening  chapter  of  his  history  of  the  voyage  :  "  I 

'  De  Orbe  Novo  decades,     dec.  ii.     cap.  vii. 

•  "  Thence  to  Puerto  del  Principe  are  more  than  a  hundred  leagues,  and  from 
it  to  the  Rio  Jordan,  seventy,  and  thence  to  Cabo  de  Santa  Elena,  which  is  in 
32°,  there  are  forty  leagues." — Primera  y  segunda  parte  de  la  historia  general 
de  las  Indias.     Gomara.    cap.  xii. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


a«$ 


learned  that  a  squadron  of  five  vessels  were  under 
equipment  at  Seville,  destined  for  the  discovery  of  the 
Molucca  Islands  from  which  we  get  our  spices,  and 
that  Fernam  de  Magalhaens,'  a  Portuguese  gentleman, 
and  a  commander  of  the  order  of  St.  lago  de  la 
Spata,  wiio  had  already  more  than  once  traversed  the 
ocean  with  great  reputation,  was  made  captain-general 
of  the  expedition.'  Therefore  I  immediately  repaired 
to  Barcelona  to  request  permission  of  his  majesty  to  be 
one  of  the  number  of  persons  to  go  on  this  voyage. 
My  request  was  granted." 

The  interested  historian  then  relates  :  •'  The 
captain-general  Fernam  de  Magalhaens,  had  deter- 
mined to  undertake  a  long  voyage  across  the  ocean 
where  the  winds  are  violent  and  storms  quite  frequent. 
He  also  resolved  to  take  a  course  not  yet  explored  by 
any  navigator,  but  this  bold  purpose  he  was  cautious 
in  disclosing  lest  some  one  should  try  to  dissuade  him 
from  it  by  magnifying  the  risk  he  would  run  and  thus 
dishearten  his  men.  Besides  the  dangers  common  to  a 
voyage  like  this  one  was  the  disadvantageous  cir- 
cumstance that  the  four  other  vessels  under  his 
command  were  in  charge  of  •:aptains  inimical  to  him 
solely  because  he  was  a  Portuguese  and  they  were 
Spaniards." 

The  fleet  sailed  from  the  port  of  Seville,  on  Mon- 
day morning,  the  tenth  of  August,  ^5^9,  The  five 
ships  proceeded  southwardly  along  the  coast  of  Africa, 
passed  between   Cape  Verd  and  the  islands  of  the 

'Pigafetta  writes  the  name  "  Magaglianes,"  the  Portuguese  "Magal- 
haens," the  Spaniards  "  Magallanes,"  and  the  French  "  Magellan."  The  Eng- 
lish follow  the  French  spelling. 

*  Fernam  de  Magalhaens  was  born  at  Oporto,  about  the  year  1470.  After 
entering  the  Portuguese  navy,  he  sailed  to  the  East  Indies  and  served 
under  Affonso  d'  Albuquerque.  He  returned  to  Spain  about  the  year 
1517. 


■  I  i 

i 


286 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


i,: 


I' 


Cape  Verd  group,  and  after  reaching  Sierra  Leone, 
stood  for  the  coast  of  Brazil. 

**  After  we  crossed  the  equator,"  says  Pigafetta, 
"  we  lost  si^ht  of  the  north  sti  r.  We  then  steered 
south-southwest,  making  for  Te  ra  del  Verzino  (Land 
of  Red  wood),  in  latitude  twenty-three  degrees  thirty 
minutes  south  latitude.'  This  country  is  a  continua- 
tion of  that  in  which  Cape  St.  Augustine  is  situate, 
in  eight  degrees  thirty  minutes  south  latitude." 

The  squadron  entered  the  port  now  known  as  that 
of  Rio  Janeiro  on  St.  Lucy's  day,  the  thirteenth  of 
December. 

"  The  land  of  Brazil,  which  produces  eveVy  thing  in 
abundance,  is  as  large  as  Spain,  France,  and  Italy 
united.  It  is  one  of  the  countries  acquired  by  the 
king  of  Portugal.  The  people  of  Brazil  are  not 
Christians,  nor  are  they  idolaters,  for  they  worship 
nothing.  *  *  *  Ihey  go  entirely  naked,  the 
women  as  well  as  the  men.  Their  houses  are  lonsf 
cabins,  which  they  call  boi.  They  lie  on  cotton-nets 
called  hammocks  fastene'd  at  the  ends  to  two  strong 
posts.  Their  fire-places  are  on  the  ground.  Their 
bois  frequently  contain  a  hundred  men,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  consequently  there  is  always  con- 
siderable no  jje  in  these  houses.     *     *      * 

"  The  people  of  Brazil,  both  men  and  women,  paint 
xheir  bodies  and  particularly  their  faces  in  a  singular 
manner  with  different  figures.  They  have  short, 
woolly  hair  on  their  heads,  but  none  on  other  parts  of 
their  bodies,  for  they  pluck  it  out.  They  have  a  dress 
made  of  the  interwoven  feathers  of  the  parrot,  and  so 
arranged  that  the  large  quills  of  the  wings  and  tail 
form  a  girdle  about  their  loins,  giving  the  wearer  a 

*  Before  Brazil  was  discovered,  red  wood  was  brought  to  Europe  from  Asia 
and  Africa. 


Ii 


iJ 


DISCOVERIES  OF  :K.MERICA. 


287 


unique  and  grotesque  appearance.  Almost  all  the 
men  have  their  lower  lips  pierced  with  three  holes, 
through  which  they  thrust  a  slender  cylindrical  stone 
about  two  inches  long.  The  women  and  children  do 
not  wear  this  cumbersome  ornament.  *  *  *  Their 
color  is  more  of  an  olive  than  a  black." 

After  anchoring  thirteen  days  in  the  port  of  Rio 
Janeiro,  the  fleet  coasted  southward  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  where,  as  Pigafetta  relates  :  "Juan 
de  Solis,  while  on  a  similar  voyage  of  discovery,  was 
with  sixty  of  his  crew  devoured  by  cannibals,  in  whom 
they  placed  too  much  confidence." 

At  the  beginning  of  winter,  in  the  month  of  May, 
i520,  the  fleet  reached  the  port  of  St.  Julian,  "  in  forty- 
nine  degrees  thirty  minutes,"  where  they  anchored  for 
five  months.'  Here  the  explorers  were  visited  by  a 
number  of  giants.  Pigafetta,  describing  one  of  the 
visitors,  remarks :  "  This  man  was  so  prodigiously 
large  that  our  heads  scarcely  reached  to  his  waist 
He  had  an  attractive  appearance.  His  face  was  broad 
and  painted  red,  with  the  exception  of  a  circle  of 
yellow  round  his  eyes  and  two  spots,  figured  like 
hearts,  on  his  gheeks.  His  hair,  which  was  thin,  was 
whitened  with  some  kind  of  a  powder.  His  coat,  c* 
rather  his  mantle,  was  made  of  furs,  well  sewed  to- 
gether, taken  from  an  indigenous  animal,  which  after- 
ward we  had  an  opportunity  to  see.  This  animal  [the 
guanaco]  has  the  head  and  ears  of  a  mule,  the  body  of 
a  camel,  the  legs  of  a  stag,  and  the  tail  of  a  horse,  and, 

'  In  the  edition  of  Ptolemy's  geography,  printed  at  Rome  in  1508,  it  is  said ; 
"The  Land  of  tl;  Holy  Cross  diminishes  all  the  way  to  south  latitude  37^  ; 
although,  according  to  navigators  who  have  explored  it,  it  is  said  all  the  way 
to  south  latitude  50°  ;  of  which  remaining  part  no  description  is  found. — 
Terra  Saudce  Crucis  decrescit  usque  mi  latitudinem  37°  aust.\  quamqttam  ad 
Archiploi  Uique  ad  50°  austr.,  navigarint,  ut  ferunt ;  quant  reliquam  par' 
tioittm  descriptnin  non  reperi."    cap.  xiv. 


f'i 


I: 


•;9 


If  ;ji  i 


)m 


t  n 


288 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


like  the  latter,  neighs.  This  man  also  wore  shoes 
made  of  the  skin  of  the  same  animal.  In  his  left  hand 
he  carried  a  short  and  heavy  bow ;  the  string,  some- 
what thicker  than  a  lute's,  was  made  of  an  intestine  of 
the  animal  already  mentioned.  In  his  other  hand  he 
held  arrows  made  of  short  reeds,  with  feathers  at  one 
end,  similar  to  our  arrows,  and  at  the  other,  instead  of 
iron,  a  white  and  black  flint.     *     *     * 

"  The  women  are  not  as  tall  as  the  men,  brt  they 
are  much  stouter.  *  *  *  They  paint  and  dress  in 
the  same  manner  as  their  husbands,  and  use  the  thin 
skin  of  an  animal  to  cover  their  nakedresr  They 
were,  in  our  judgment,  far  from  handsonu,  i..v.'verthe- 
less  their  husbands  seemed  jealous.     *     *     * 

"  Savage  as  these  Indians  are,  they  are  not  without 
their  medicaments.  When  they  have  a  pain  in  the 
stomach,  in  place  of  an  active  medicine  they  thrust  an 
arrow  far  down  the  throat  to  cause  them  to  vomit. 
*  *  *  If  they  have  the  headache,  they  make  a 
gash  in  their  forehead,  and  do  the  same  with  other 
parts  of  their  body  where  they  suffer  pain,  to  draw 
from  the  affected  part  a  considerable  quantity  of 
blood.     *     *     * 

"Their  hair  is  cut  circularly,  like  that  of  monks,  bii 
it  is  longer,  and  they  confine  it  round  the  head  witi?  a 
cotton-string,  in  which  bandage  they  place  their  arrows 
when  they  go  hunting.  *  *  *  It  ippears  that 
their  religion  is  limited  to  adoring  the  devil.  They 
pretend  that  when  one  of  them  is  on  the  point  of 
death,  ten  or  twelve  demons  appear  dancing  and  sing- 
ing around  the  dying  person.  *  "**  *  These  peo- 
ple, as  I  have  already  said,  clothe  themselves  with  the 
skin  of  an  animal,  and  also  cover  their  nuts  with  the 
same  kind  of  skin.     They  transport  their  huts,  for  they 


:1J 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


289 


have   no  fixed  place  of  abode,   and    wander  about 
from  place    to  place   like   gypsies.       They    live    on 


*     * 


* 


raw  meat  and  a  sweet  root  called  capac. 

Our  captain  gave  these  people  the  name  of  Patago- 

mans.    *     *     * 

"  Scarcely  had  we  anchored  In  this  roadstead  before 
the  four  captains  of  the  other  vessels  plotted  to  murder 
the  captain-general.  These  traitors  v/ere  Juan  of 
Carthagena,  inspector  of  the  fleet,  Luis  de  Mendoza, 
the  treasurer,  Antonio  Cocca,  the  paymaster,  and 
Caspar  de  Casada.  The  plot  was  discovered.  The 
first  named  was  flayed  alive,  and  the  second  stabbed 
to  the  heart.  Caspar  de  Casada  was  forgiven,  but  in 
a  few  days  he  was  again  treacherous.  Then  the  captain- 
general  (who  did  not  dare  to  take  Casada's  life,  as  he 
was  made  a  captain  by  the  emperor,)  drove  him  from 
the  fleet  and  left  him  in  the  country  of  the  Patagonians, 
with  a  priest,  his  accomplice.     *     *     *  „, 

"  We  phnted  a  cross  on  the  summit  of  a  neighbor- 
ing mountain,  which  we  named  Monte  Cristo,  and  took 
possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  king  of 
Spain.     *     *     * 

"  Continuing  our  course  toward  the  south,  on  the 
twenty-first  of  October,  in  fifty-two  degrees,  we  dis- 
covered a  strait,  which  we  called  the  Strait  of  the 
Eleven  Thousand  Virgins  (xi.  mila  Vergini),  in  honor 
of  the  day.  This  strait,  as  it  will  hereafter  appear,  is 
four  hundred  and  forty  miles,  or  one  hundred  and  ten 
leagues  long,  and  about  a  half  league  wide,  more  or 
less.*  It  extends  to  another  sea,  which  we  named  the 
Pacific  Ocean  (Mar  pacifico).  The  strait  lies  between 
lofty  mountains  covered  with  snow,  and  the  channel 

'  The  eastern  entrance  to  the  strait  lies  between  the  Cap**  of  the  Virgins,  on 
the  north,  and  the  Cape  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  on  the  south,  and  is  about  twenty 
miles  wide.     The  strait  is  three  hundred  and  fifteen  miles  long. 


'  m 


sr 
I? 


290 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


\. 


was  so  deep  that  we  were  compelled  to  anchor  close 
to  the  shore.'     *     *     *  v    : 

"  The  whole  of  the  crew  were  so  fully  persuaded 
that  this  strait  had  no  western  outlet,  that  we  should 
have  left  it  unexplored  had  it  not  been  for  the  profound 
scientific  knowledge  of  the  captain-general.  Skillful 
as  he  was  iutrepid,  he  knew  that  he  had  to  sail  through 
a  very  secluded  strait  which  he  had  seen  marked  on  a 
chart,  in  the  archives  of  the  king  of  Portugal,  drawn 
by  that  most  excellent  man,  Martin  of  Boemia.' 

"  As  soon  as  we  entered  the  strait,  imagined  to  be 
only  a  bay,  the  captain  sent  the  two  ships,  the  San 
Antonio  and  La  Concepcion,  in  advance  to  explore  it 
to  its  termination  or  to  where  it  extended,  while  we, 
in  the  ships  La  Trinidad  and  La  Victoria,  remained  at 
its  mouth.3 

"Two  days  passed  before  the  vessels  returned  that 
had  been  sent  to  examine  the  bottom  of  the  bay.  We 
began  to  conjecture  that  they  had  been  engulfed  dur- 
ing the  tempest  which  had  occurred,  for  seeing  smoke 
on  shore  we  imagined  that  those  who  had  the  good 
fortune  to  escape  had  kindled  fires  to  inform  us  of  their 
existence  and  distress.  But  while  in  this  painful  sus- 
pense we  saw  the  ships  coming  toward  us  under  full 
sail  and  wlui  their  flags  flying.  *  *  *  When  we 
learned  from  those  on  board  that  they  had  seen  the 

'On  the  MaioUo  map  of  i  ^7,  the  following  inscription  is  placed  near  the 
delineated  strait :  "  Streilo  doute  pasas  Mugaianes  Portogese  per  andare  in  le 
isole  de  Maluchi  de  le  spesarie  de  Re  de  Spania"  the  strait  passed  by  Mai^aianes, 
a  Portuguese,  to  go  to  the  Molucca  Islands  for  spices  for  the  king  of  Spain. 

'  "  II  eapitano-generale,  die  sapeva  de  dover  fare  la  sua  navegazione  per  uuo 
streto  molto  ascoso,  como  vile  ne  la  thesararia  del  re  de  Portugal  in  una  carta 
fati per  quello  excellentissimo  hucmo  Martina  di  Boemia." 

The  chart  was  evidently  one  drafted  to  exhibit  the  field  of  the  explorations 
of  Cabral  and  other  Portuguese  navigators  along  the  eastern  coast  of  P>razil, 

•The  fifth  vessel,  the  Santiago,  while  exploring  the  coast,  when  the  other 
ships  were  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  St.  Julian,  was  wrecked. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


291 


prolongation  of  the  bay,  or,  more  correctly,  of  the 
strait,  we  sailed  to  them  to  continue  our  voyage  on 
this  course,  if  possible. 

"  When  we  had  entered  into  the  third  bay,  which  I 
have  already  mentioiied,  we  saw  two  openings,  or 
channels,  the  one  running  to  the  southeast,  the  other 
to  the  southwest.  *  *  *  The  captain-general  sent 
the  two  vessels,  the  San  Antonio  and  La  Concepcion, 
to  the  southeast  to  examine  whether  or  not  this  chan- 
nel terminated  in  an  open  sea.  The  first  set  sail  im- 
mediately under  press  of  canvas,  not  choosing  to  wait 
for  the  second,  which  the  pilot  wish'^d  to  leave  behind, 
for  he  had  intended  to  avail  himself  of  the  darkness  of 
the  night  to  retrace  his  course  and  return  to  Spain  by 
the  same  way  he  had  come. 

"This  pilot  was  Estevan  Gomez,  who  hated  Magal- 
haens,  for  the  sole  reason  that  when  Magalhaens  came 
to  Spain  to  lay  his  project  before  the  emperor  of  go- 
ing to  the  Moluccas  by  a  western  route,  Gomez  him- 
self had  already  requested,  and  was  ^n  the  point  of 
obtaining,  some  caravels  for  an  expedition  of  which  he 
would  have  had  the  command.  This  expedition  had 
for  its  object  new  discoveries,  but  the  arrival  of  Magal- 
haens prevented  his  request  from  being  granted,  and 
he  only  obtained  the  subaltern  position  of  pilot.  His 
disaffection  was  further  increased  by  the  thought  of  his 
serving  under  a  Portugese.  In  the  course  of  the  night 
he  conspired  with  the  other  Spaniards  on  board  the 
ship.  They  put  in  irons  and  even  wounded  the  cap- 
tain, Alvaro  de  Meschita,  the  cousin-german  of  the 
captain-general,  and  carried  him  to  Spain."  ' 

'  Gomez,  after  deserting  the  squadron  with  the  San  Antonio,  returned  to 
the  port  of  St.  Julian,  and  there  took  on  board  Caspar  de  Casada  and  the  priest 
whom  Magalhaens  had  put  on  shore.  On  Gomez's  ••eturn  to  Spain,  the  sixth  r*" 
May,  1531,  he  tol4  "  the  emperor  that  Magalhaens  was  crazy  and  had  lied  to 


•iu 


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C    1 


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292 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


When  the  strait  was  explored  to  its  termination, 
the  cape  where  the  strait  ended  was  called,  says  Piga- 
fetta,  "  II  Cabo  Deseado  "  (The  Desired  Cape). 

On  Wednesday,  the  twenty-eighth  of  November, 
1 520,  the  three  ships  left  the  strait  and  entered  the 
unexplored  expanse  of  the  Pacific.  "In  the  course  of 
three  months  and  twenty  days,"  Pigafetta  observes, 
"  we  traversed  nearly  four  thousand  leagues  on  the 
ocean  called  by  us  the  Pacific,  on  account  of  our  not 
having  experienced  during  this  period  any  tempestu- 
ous weather.  In  this  long  space  of  time  we  did  not 
descry  any  la.id,  except  two  desert  islands.  On  these 
we  saw  nothing  but  birds  and  trees,  therefore  we 
named  them,  Isole  Sfortunato'  (The  Unfortunate 
Islands).  *  *  *  The  two  islands  are  two  hundred 
leagues  apart.  The  first  lies  in  fifteen  degrees  south 
latitude,  the  second  in  nine  degrees.  According  to  the 
measure  which  we  made  of  the  voyage  with  the  chain 
at  the  poop,  we  ran  daily  about  sixty  to  seventy 
leagues."  If  God  and  the  Holy  Mother  had  not 
granted  us  a  fortunate  voyage  we  should  aU  have 
perished  from  hunger  on  so  vast  a  sea.  I  do  nof  think 
that  any  one  will  hereafter  venture  on  a  simila,'  voy- 
age.3 

"  If  we  had  continued  on  a  western  course  on  the 
same  parallel  after  leaving  the  strait  we  should  have 
circumnavigated  the  globe  without  seeing  any  land 
except  that  extending  from  the  Cape  of  the  Eleven 

his    majesty,  for  he  did  not    know  where    Banda  was  nor  the  Moluccas." 
— Letter  of  Transylvanus  and  Castanheda. 
'  Spanish,  Las  Islas  Desdichados. 

•  "  Seconda  la  misura  che  facevamo  del  v>aggio  coila  catena  a  poppa,  not 
percorrevamo  da  60  in  70  leghe  algiomo." 

*  Sir  Francis  Drake  followed  Magalhaens  a  half  century  later.  The 
former  departed  from  England  on  the  thirteenth  of  December,  1577,  and  re> 
turned  there  on  the  third  of  November,  1580. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


293 


Thousand  Virgins,  at  the  eastern  head  of  the  strait,  in 
the  Ocean  Sea  (Mar  oceano),  to  Cabo  Deseado,  at 
the  western  end,  in  the  Pacific  Sea  (Mar  pacifico). 
The  two  capes  are  in  fifty-two  degrees  south  latitude. 

"  The  antarctic  pole  has  not  as  many  stars  as  the 
arctic.  At  the  former  a  large  number  of  small  stars 
cluster  together  which  form  two  nebulcB.  They  are 
separated  from,  eacl'  other  and  are  somewhat  dim.  In 
these  nebulcs  are  two  large  and  brilliant  stars  which 
move  very  little.  These  indicate  the  antarctic  pole. 
Although  the  needle  declined  somewhat  from  the  arctic 
pole  it  still  oscillated  toward  it,  but  not  with  the  same 
force  as  when  in  the  northern  hemisphere.  When  the 
captain -general  out  at  sea  directed  the  course  in  which 
the  pilots  should  steer,  he  asked  them  in  what  direction 
they  steered.  All  of  them  replied  that  they  bore  in 
the  direction  in  which  he  had  ordered  them.  He  then 
informed  them  that  their  course  was  wrong  and  di- 
rected them  to  correct  the  needle,  because,  as  they 
were  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  it  had  not  the  same 
power  to  designate  the  true  north  as  in  the  northern 
hemisphere.  When  we  got  out  in  the  open  sea,  we 
saw,  in  the  west,  a  cross  of  five  very  bright  stars. 

"  We  steered  northwest  by  west  till  we  reached  the 
equator  in  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  degrees  of 
longitude,  west  of  the  line  of  demarkation.  *  *  * 
After  we  crossed  the  equator  we  steered  west  by  north. 
We  then  ran  two  hundred  leagues  toward  the  west, 
when,  changing  our  cours.e  again,  we  ran  west  by 
south  until  we  reached  thirteen  degrees  of  north  lati- 
tude. We  proposed  by  this  course  to  reach  Cape 
Catticara  which  geographers  have  placed  in  this  lati- 
tude, but  they  are  mistaken,  for  this  cape  lies  twelve 
degrees  more  toward  the  north."  ' 

'  Cape  Cattigara  was,  according  to  Ptolemy,  in  one  hundred  and  eighty 


> 


I 

*      \ 


It  I 


i( 


294 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


From  the  islands,  which  Mag;  'haens  called  "  Isole  de 
Ladroni," '  the  three  ships  stood  toward  the  Philippine 
IsUnds,  where,  on  one  called  Matan,  the  captain-gen- 
eral was  killed  in  an  engagement  with  the  natives,  on 
tne  twenty-seventh  of  April,  i52i.  It  was  at  the 
island  of  Zubu,  near  the  former,  "  in  ten  degrees  north 
latitude,"  that  Magalhaens,  before  his  death,  received 
the  first  intelligence  respecting  the  Molucca  Islands, 
On  Wednesday,  the  sixth  of  November,  i52i,  the 
ships  came  in  sight  of  the  long-sought  Spice  Islands, 
and  on  Friday,  the  eighth  of  November,  i52i,the 
Victoria  and  the  Trinidad  arrived  at  the  island  of  Ta- 
dore.  "We  now,"  Pigafetta  remarks,  '^ returned 
thanks  to  God  and  manifested  our  joy  by  firing  a 
round  from  all  of  our  large  guns.  It  will  not  excite  as- 
tonishment that  we  should  be  elated,  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  we  had  been  at  sea  twenty-seven  months, 
wanting  two  days,  and  had  visited  numerous  islands  in 
search  of  those  we  had  reached. 

"The  Portuguese  had  reported  that  the  Molucca 
Islands  lay  in  the  middle  of  an  impassable  sea,  full  of 
shallows,  and  were  surrounded  by  a  cloudy,  foggy  at- 
mosphere. We,  however,  found  the  contrary,  and 
never  had  less  than  a  hundred  fathoms  water  all  the 
way  to  the  Molucca  Islands."  The  latter  were  five  m 
number:  Tarenate,  Tadore,  Mutir,  Machian  and 
Bachian.'  When  afterward  cloves  were  found  on  the 
adjacent  islands,  the  name  Moluccas,  was  applied  to  all 
the  islands  lying  between  the  Philippines  and  Java. 

degrees  of  longitude  from  the  Canaries  and  south  of  the  equator.  It  is  now 
known  as  Cape  Comorin,  being  the  southern  extremity  of  Hindostan,  in  north 
latitude  8°  5',  and  in  east  longitude  77°  30'. 

*  Spanish,  de  los  Ladrones.  The  Ladrone  Islands,  about  twenty  in  num- 
ber, lie  between  13°  and  21°  north  latitude,  and  144°  and  146°  east  longitude, 

•  The  Moluccas  or  Spioe  Islands,  more  than  two  hundred  in  number,  lie 
between  3°  north  and  9"  south  latitude,  and  122°  and  133°  east  longitude. 


K     ii 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


295 


1  -i 


PM 


After  a  short  sojourn  at  the  Spice  Islands,  the  return 
voyage  was  made  by  the  ship  La  Victoria  alone,  com- 
manded by  Juan  Sebastian  del  Cano,'  who  set  sail  from 
Tadore  on  the  twenty-first  of  December,  i52i,  the 
ship  La  Concepcion  having  been  burned  at  the  island 
Bohol,  and  La  Trinidad  having  been  left  at  the  Moluc- 
cas in  a  leaking  condition.  Following  the  route  along 
the  coast  of  Africa,  the  ship  La  Victoria  arrived  at 
Seville,  on  Monday,  the  eighth  of  September,  1 522,  she 
having  sailed  in  the  entire  voyage,  according  to  Piga- 
fetta's  computation,  fourteen  thousand  six  hundred 
leagues.  Thus  passed  into  history  the  wonderful 
achievement  of  the  first  circumnavigation  of  the  earth 
in  three  years  and  twenty-nine  days.' 

The  signal  success  of  the  maritime  enterprise  of  the 
Spaniards  engendered  a  spirit  of  jealousy  among  the 
Portuguese.  The  feeling  of  being  overshadowed  by 
their  persistent  rival  in  reaching  the  Indies  by  t  "i  way 
of  the  West  led  them  to  accuse  the  Spaniards  of  en- 
croaching on  their  commercial  route  to  the  Spice 
Islands,  and  of  breaking  the  treaty  of  Tordesillas. 
The  Spaniards  in  defence  claimed  that  the  Molluccas 
or  the  Spice  Islands,  found  by  Magellan's  companions, 
were  not  within  the  limits  of  the  territory  of  the  Portu- 
guese as  defined  by  the  papal  bull. 

To  settle  these  national  differences  the  notable  con- 

'  Juan  Sebastian  del  Cano  was  honored  for  the  notable  part  he  took  in  this 
famous  voyage  by  being  permitted  to  display,  as  his  coat  of  arms,  the  figure  of 
a  globe,  on  which  was  inscribed  :  "  Primus  circuvidedisti  me," 

"  Primo  viaggio  intorno  al  globo  terracqueo  ossia  ragguaglio  della  naviga- 
zione  alle  indie  orientali  per  la  via  d'  occidenle  fatta  dal  cavaliere  Antonio 
Pigafetfa  patrizio  Vicentino  sulla  squadra  del  Capit.  Magaglianes  negli  anni 
1519-1522  era  publicato  per  la  prima  volta,  tratto  da  un  codice  MS.  della 
Biblioteca  Ambrosiana  di  Milano  e  corredota  di  note  da  Carlo  Amoretti.  In 
Milano,  1800. —  Vide  The  first  voyage  round  the  world  by  Magellan,  translated 
from  tiie  accounts  of  Pigafetta  and  other  contemporary  writers.  By  Lord 
Stanley  of  Alderley.  London,  1874.  Hakluyt  See.  pub.  Vide  Pinkerton's 
voyages  and  travels,    vol.  i.  pp.  288-381. 


!W^ 


m 


296 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


gress  of  Badajos  was  convened  in  the  spring  of  1524. 
Tile  Icing  of  eacli  country  sent  to  it  special  commis- 
sioners, among  which  number  were  Fernando  Colum- 
bus, Sebastian  Cabot,  Diego  Ribero,  and  Estevan 
Gomez.  For  a  number  of  days  the  two  parties  angrily 
disputed  concerning  the  indefinite  position  of  the  line 
of  demarkation  as  established  by  the  treaty  of  Torde- 
sillas  in  1494.  It  was  a  question  not  easily  decided 
where  among  the  Cape  Verd  Islands  the  point  was, 
through  which,  at  the  distance  of  three  hundred  and 
seventy  leagues  from  it,  the  line  of  limitation  passed  to 
the  poles,  for  the  group  of  the  Cape  Verd  Islands  occu- 
pies a  space  in  extent  from  east  to  west  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles. 

Wherever,  east  or  west,  they  decided  this  point 
should  be  established  each  party  was  aware  that  so 
much  space  would  be  gained  or  lost  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  earth  by  the  one  or  the  other  of  the  two 
countries.  The  congress,  after  many  exciting  disputa- 
tions, finally  ended  its  session  on  the  last  day  of  May, 
without  reaching  any  decision  respecting  the  position 
of  the  papal  line  of  limitation.  The  admission  that 
Spain  had  full  title  to  the  Spice  or  Molucca  Islands  and 
that  Portugal  had  acquired  the  right  of  possession  of  a 
part  of  Brazil,  were  the  chief  concessions  made  by  this 
contentious  body  of  learned  men.'  ' 

'  Primera  y  segund^  parte  de  la  historia  general  de  las  Indi  \.  Gomara. 
cap,  X. 


:  r 


CHAPTER    IX. 


^l  ^ 


1 504-1 524. 

The  competitive  zeal  which  Portugal,  Spain,  and 
England  had  displayed,  in  searching  for  a  short  water- 
way to  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia,  in  time  quickened 
the  ambition  of  France  to  emulate  these  maritime 
powers  in  discovering  a  desirable  route  across  the 
Atlantic  to  the  vast  domains  of  the  Grand  Khan  of 
Cathay.  The  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  as  early  as  the 
year  i5o4,  was  frequented  by  the  fishing  vessels  of 
France.  The  exploration  of  the  coast  of  the  New 
Land,  north  of  the  present  Adantic  territory  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  is  described  by  a  famous 
French  sea-captain  of  Dieppe,  in  1539. 

"  The  said  land,  that  part  running  east  and  west 
[Cape  Breton  Island  and  Nova  Scotia  ?],  was  dis- 
covered about  thirty-five  years  ago  by  the  Bretons 
[Britons  ?]  and  Normans ;  hence  this  land  has  been 
called  the  Cape  of  the  Bretons  [Britons  ?]. 

"  The  other  part  [Newfoundland  ?]  running  north 
and  south  from  Cape  Ras  to  Cape  Buona  Vista,  in- 
cluding nearly  seventy  leagues,  was  discovered  by  the 
Portuguese,  and  the  remainder,  as  far  as  the  Gulf  of 
Castiles  [north  of  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle],  and  still 
farther,  was  discovered  by  the  said  Bretons  [Britons  i*] 
and  Normans.'  .,_-  -,._^.^ 

'  According  to  Jacques  Cartier's  statement,  the  Cape  of  Buona  Vista  was 
in  48°  30'  north  latitude. 

297 


:Hi 


\'i    rM 


II 


■'M 


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298 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA 


11 


"  About  thirty-three  years  ago,  a  ship  of  Honfleur 
first  went  there,  of  which  vessel  Jean  Denis  was  cap- 
tain, and  Gamart,  of  Rouen,  pilot.  In  the  year  i5o8, 
a  ship  of  Dieppe,  called  La  Pens^e,  owned  by  Jean 
Ango,  flither  of  the  captain  and  viscount  of  Dieppe, 
sailed  there,  the  master  or  patron  of  the  said  ship 
being  Thomas  Aubert,  and  he  was  the  first  person 
who  brought  h^^n  people  from  that  country."  ' 

In  company  with  the  Pens6e,  another  ship,  com- 
manded by  Giovanni  da  Verrazzano,  also  sailed  from 
the  port  of  Dieppe.  The  two  entering  the  river  of  St. 
Lawrence,  ascended  it  to  the  distance  of  eighty  leagues. 
The  exploration  of  the  river  is  thus  described  :  "The 
people  of  Dieppe  continued  their  commercial  inter- 
course with  the  East  Indies.  When  they  '  °ard  of  the 
discoveries  which  the  Spaniards  had  ma  America, 

they  found  their  emulation  incited,  and  tney  equipped 
two  vessels  to  discover  whether  that  part  of  the  world 
did  not  extend  its  coast  to  the  north.  They  intrusted 
the  command  of  the  ships  to  two  of  their  most  skillful 
captains,  named  Thomas  Aubert  and  Jean  V^rassen. 
These  two  ships  sailed  from  Dieppe  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year  i5o8,  and  discovered  the  same  year  the 
St.  Lawrence  River,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of 
Saint  Lawrence  because  they  began  to  ascend  it  on 
this  saint's  day  [the  tenth  of  August].  They  explored 
the  river  for  more  than  eighty  leagues,  finding  the 
inhabitants  friendly,  with  whom  they  made  very  profit- 
able exchanges  for  peltries." ' 

*  Raccolta  di  navigationi  e  viaggi.    Ramusio.    vol.  iii.    fol.  359. 

•  "  Les  Dieppois  continuoient  leur  commerce  dans  Us  Indes  OrientaUs,  lors- 
qu*ils  apprirent  les  dkouvertes  que  les  Espagnols  avoient  faites  en  Amirique  : 
leur  Emulation  sen  trouva  piqude,  <Sr*  Us  armhent  deux  vaisseaux,  pour  connoiire 
si  cette  pariie  du  monde  ne  s'^tendoit  pas  du  cSte  du  Nord ;  Us  en  tonfiirent 
le  commandement  i  deux  de  leurs  plus  habiles  Capitaines.  nommis  Thomas 
Aubert  6*  Jean  Virassen,    Ces  deux  navires partirent  de  Dieppe  au  commeme- 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


299 


As  related  in  the  chronicle  of  Euscbius,  printed  at 
Paris  in  i5i2,  it  appeals  that  Aubert  and  Verrazzano, 
on  their  departure  from  the  New  Land,  carried  to 
France  a  number  of  natives.  Under  the  date  of  i5o9, 
it  is  said  :  "  Seven  wild  men  were  brought  from  that 
island  (which  is  called  tlic  New  Land)  to  Rouen  with 
their  canoe,  clothing,  and  weapons.  They  are  of  a 
sooty  color,  with  thick  lips,  and  bearing  marks  on  the 
face  drawn  like  blue  veins  along  the  cheek-bones  from 
the  ear  to  the  middle  of  the  chin  ;  with  black  hair  and 
coarse  like  a  horse's  mane  ;  having  no  beard  through- 
out the  whole  life  ;  no  hair  on  any  part  of  the  body, 
except  on  the  head  and  eyebrows.  They  wear  a 
girdle  to  cover  their  nakedness,  in  which  girdle  is  a 
sort  of  pouch  ;  they  f  rm  a  dialect  with  their  lips  ; 
religion  they  have  none.  Their  canoe  is  bark,  which 
a  man  can  lift  on  his  shoulders  with  one  hand.  Their 
weapons  are  large  bows,  the  strings  being  intestines 
or  sinews  of  animals ;  their  arrows  are  canes  barbed 
with  flint  or  fish-bone.  Their  food  is  boiled  flesh  ; 
their  drink  water.  Of  bread  and  wine  and  morey 
they  have  not  the  least  use.  They  go  naked  or  clad 
in  the  skins  of  beasts, — bears,  deer,  sea-calves,  and  the 
like.  Their  country,  parallel  to  the  seventh  climate," 
is  nearer  the  West'  than  France  is  farther  from  it."' 

ment  de  1508,  &•  dicouvrircnt,  la  ntlme  annie,  le  Fleuve  Saint-Laurent,  atiguei 
Us  donnirent  ce  nam,  pane  que  ce  fut  ce  jour-lh  qu'ils  coinmencirent  h  It 
remcnter  ;  ce  qu'ils  ^firent  jusqu'  h  plus  de  quatre-vingt  lieues,  trouvant  ces  ha- 
bitants affables,  avec  lesquels  Us  firent  des  echanges  les  plus  avautageux  en  pelle- 
teries." — Memoires  chronologiques  pour  servir  b.  V  historic  de  Dieppe  et  4  celle 
de  la  navigation  Fran9oise.  Jean  Antoine  Desmarquets.  A  Paris,  1785.  torn, 
i,     pp.  99,  100. 

'  "  One  of  thirty  regions  or  zones  of  the  earth,  parallel  to  the  equator,  cor- 
responding to  the  successive  increase  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  the  length  of 
the  midsummer  day." 

*  West  coast  of  Ireland. 

•  Eusebii  Caesariensis  episcopi  chronicon.  *  *  *  In  alma  Parisioril 
academia.     Millesimo  quingentesimo  duodecimo  Idibus  vero  lunij.   fol.  172. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF   AMERICA. 


i 


Although  for  z.  number  of  years,  at  the  beginning- 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  this,  part  of  North  America 
was  visited  by  English,  French,  and  Portuguese  sea- 
men, it  appears  that  no  navigator  had  yet  sailed  along 
the  peculiarly  marked  and  sinuous  coast  of  the  new 
continent  between  the  thirty-fourth  and  the  forty-fifth 
parallels  of  north  latitude.  Fortunately  for  France, 
Giovanni  da  Verrazzano,  a  Florentine,  who,  in  i5o8, 
had  sailed  with  Aubert  to  the  New  Land,  was  sent  a 
second  time  on  a  voyage  of  dir-covery  tovA^ard  the 
west.'  As  pertinently  said  by  Asher  :  "  What  Cada- 
mosta  had  done  for  Portugal,  Columbus  for  Spain, 
John  Cabot  for  England,  that  Verrazzano  did  for 
France." ' 

The  history  of  Verazzano's  second  visit  to  America 
rightly  begins  with  the  attempt  of  the  king  of  Po'-tugal, 
in  i523,  to  impede  the  sailing  of  the  vessels  preparing 
for  the  voyage.  The  means  which  King  John  III.  of 
Portugal  employed  to  frustrate  this  undertaking  are 
partly  described  by  D'Andrada,  the  Portuguese  his- 
torian. He  says  :  "  At  that  time  the  king  was  told  by 
some  Portuguese  doing  business  in  France  that  one 
Joao  Varezano  [Giovanni  da  Varrazzano],  a  Florentine, 
offered  himself  to  Francis  to  discover  other  kinofdoms 
in  the  East,  which  the  Portuguese  had  not  found,  and 
that  in  the  ports  of  Normandy  a  fleet  was  making 
ready,  under  the  patronage  of  the  admirals  of  the  coast 
and  the  dissimulation  of  Francis,  to  plant  a  colony  in 
Santa  Cruz,  called  Erazil,  discovered  and  laid  down  by 
the  Portuguese  on  the  second  voyage  to  India.'  Ac- 
cordingly, he  [King  John  III.]  sent  to  France  an  em- 

•  Giovanni  da  Verrazzano,  the  son  of  Pier  Andrea  da  Verrazzano,  was 
bom  at  Florence  about  the  year  1480. 

•  Henry    Hudson;    the   navigator.      By  G.    M.    Asher.      London,    i860. 
Hakluyt  Society  pub.     Introduction,     p.  79.  . 

•  The  voyage  of  i-edro  Alvarez  Cabral,  in  150a 


•>■     '3 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


30 1 


bassador,  Joao  da  Silveyra,  son  of  Fernao  da  Silveyra, 
who  delayed  his  going  no  longer  than  was  necessary 
to  get  ready."' 

On  his  arrival  at  the  court  of  France,  Silveyra 
pursued  his  investigations  respecting  the  expedition, 
and  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  April,  1523,  wrote  to  King 
John  III.,  saying  : 

"  By  what  I  hear  Master  Joao  Verazano,  who  is 
going  on  the  discovery  of  Cathay,  has  not  left  up  to 
this  date  for  want  of  opportunity,  and  because  of  dif- 
ferences, I  understand,  between  himself  and  men;  and 
on  this  point,  although  knowing  nothing  positively,  I 
have  written  my  doubts  in  accompanying  letters.  I 
shall  continue  to  doubt,  unless  he  take  his  departure."  ' 
Silveyra,  according  to  what  is  said  by  D'Andrada, 
"  accomplished  nothing  he  had  in  hand  except  to  delay 
the  voyage  of  the  Florentine." 

Notwithstanding  the  secret  machinations  of  the 
king  of  Portugal,  four  vessels  were  finally  fitted  out 
and  placed  under  the  command  of  Verrazzano,  •'  to 
discover  new  lands."  Late  in  the  year  1523,  the  fleet 
set  sail,  but  having  encountered  a  severe  storm  in  the 
North  Sea,  all  the  ships  were  disabled,  and  Verrazzano, 
having  returned  to  Brittany  to  repair  the  two  barques, 
La  Normandie  and  La  Dauphine,  afterward  sailed 
in  the  Dauphine  to  the  New  Land.^ 

When  he  returned  to  France,  he  wrote  an  inter- 
esting letter  to  Francis  I.,  king  of  France,  dated  "  on 
board  the  ship  La  Dauphine,  in  the  port  of  Dieppe,  in 

'  Cronica  do  mnyto  alto  e  muyto  poderoso  rey  destes  regnos  de  Portugal 
Dom  Joao  o  III.  destv.1  nome.  Francisco  d'Andrada.  Lisboa,  1613.  part.  i. 
cap.  13,  14. 

*  Letter  of  Joio  da  Silveyra  to  Dom  Joao  III.  Archivo  de  Torre  de 
Tombo.  Corp.  Chron.     part.  i.     ma.  29.    doc.  54, 

■  The  shij;-  La  Dauphine  i  >  spoken  of  in  tlie  Italian  text  of  Verrazzano's 
letter  as  "  /a  nave  Dui/ina"  Daljina  is  the  feminine  form  of  the  Italian  word 
dalfmo,  a  dolphin. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


Normandy,  July  8, 1524." '  In  this  communication  Ver- 
razzano  relates  what  had  happened  to  his  fleet  in  the 
North  Sea,  how  he  had  carried  out  the  orders  of  the 
king  by  sailing  in  the  Dauphine  toward  the  west  to  go 
to  Cathay,  where  -and  when  he  discovered  a  new  land 
never  before  seen  by  men  of  ancient  or  modern  times. 
He  then  describes  the  people  inhabiting  the  country, 
speakc  of  its  various  productions,  mentions  the  peculiar 
physical  features  of  its  coast,  tells  how  many  leagues  he 
had  sailed  along  it,  and  concludes  with  a  brief  review 
of  the  discoveries  made  to  the  year  1 524  in  the  west- 
ern hemisphere.  His  remarks  concerning  his  failure 
to  find  a  convenient  harbor  where  he  first  descried 
land,  of  his  unsuccessful  search  for  one  south  of  the 
thirty-fourth  parallel,  of  his  steering  afterward  toward 
the  north  in  quest  of  a  haven,  and  of  his  disappoint- 
ment in  this  direction,  are  so  applicable  to  the  peculiar 
features  of  this  part  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Um.ed 
States,  that  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  he  faithfully  pic- 
tures the  shores  of  South  Carolina  and  North  Carolina, 
along  which  he  began  his  explorations.  The  compari- 
sons he  makes  respecting  the  natives,  the  flora,  the 

'  A  manuscript  containing  the  Italian  text  of  Verrazzano's  letter  wns  found  in 
1837,  by  G.  W.  Greene,  consul  from  the  United  Slates  at  Rome,  in  the  Maglia- 
becchian  library  of  Florence,  in  a  volume  of  miscellanies,  marked  "  Class  xiii. 
Cod.  89.  Verraz."  With  this  letter  was  another  written  by  Fernando  Carli  to 
his  father,  dated  Lyons,  August  4,  1524.  As  Carli  remarks  in  his  communication 
that  it  inclosed  a  copy  of  Verrazzano's  letter  to  Francis  I.,  it  is  believed  that  the 
transcript  he  >  peaks  of  is  the  copy  found  in  the  Magliabecchian  library. —  Viti^e 
Life  and  vcynges  of  Verrazzano,  by  G.  W.  Greene.  North  American  Re- 
view,    vol.  xlv.     October,  1837. 

Raniusio  placed  in  the  third  volume  of  his  collection  of  voyages  and  travels 
a  condensed  form  of  Verrazzano's  letter,  entitled  "The  relation  of  Giovanni  da 
Verrazzano,  Florentine,  to  the  most  Christian  king  of  France,  Francis  L,  of 
the  land  l)y  him  discovered  in  the  name  of  his  majesty  ;  written  at  Dieppe, 
July  8,  1524. — ///  Ckristiaitissimo  Re  Dl  Francia  Francesco  Prlir-o,  Relntiont 
di  Giotianni  da  Verrazatw  Fioreiitino  della  terra  per  ltd  seoperta  in  iiome  u'i  sua 
Maesta  scriltain  DUppa,  adi  8.  Luglio  M.D.XXlUl." — Raccolta  di  navigationi  e 
viaggi.    Ramusio.    vol.  ill.     fol.  350. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


303 


fauna,  the  climate,  and  the  harbors  of  the  more  north- 
ern part  of  the  coast,  prove  that  he  had  travelled  exten- 
sively in  other  parts  of  the  world,  and  that  he  was 
well  informed  concerning  the  things  he  commented 
upon  in  his  letter.  His  geographical  knowledge  is 
far  in  advance  of  that  of  the  scientific  men  of  his  time, 
and  he  constantly  shows  that  he  was  practically  ac- 
quainted with  all  the  known  means  which  were  then 
used  to  ascertain  longitude,  latitude,  and  the  measure- 
ment of  distances.  His  opinion  that  the  Orient  ex- 
tended around  to  the  New  Land  was  well  founded, 
since  it  was  not  known  until  the  eighteenth  century 
that  Behring's  Strait  separated  America  from  Asia. 
His  reasoning  concerning  the  dimensions  of  the  new 
continent,  that  if  its  breadth  corresponded  to  the  extent 
of  its  sea-coast  it  doubtless  exceeded  Asia  in  size,  is 
logically  correct.  Verrazzano's  hopefulness  that  infor- 
mation of  a  more  satisfactory  character  respecting  the 
extent  of  the  territory  of  the  New  Land  would  be  ob- 
tained by  other  exp1  trers,  shows  that  he  was  less 
thoughtful  of  the  brilliancy  of  his  own  achievements 
than  he  was  of  the  more  desirable  and  important  re- 
sults of  future  voyages  to  that  part  of  the  present  coast 
of  the  United  States,  between  the  thirty-fourth  and 
forty-fifth  parallels,  of  which  he  is  rightfully  entided  to 
be  regarded  the  discoverer.     Verrazzano  wrote  :' 

"  Most  Serene  Sire  : 

•'  After  the  past  fortune  on  the  northern  coasts  I 
did  not  write  to  your  most  serene  and  Christian 
majesty  concerning  the  success  of  the  four  vessels 
ordered  to  the  ocean  to  discover  new  lands,  thinking 

'The  copy  of  Verrazzano's  letter  has  this  superscription  :  ''  II  Capilano 
Giovnntti  da  Verrazzano,  fiorentino  di  Nomiandie,  al  la  serenissima  corona  di 
Francia,  dice  "  : — Captain  Giovanni  da  Verrazzano,  a  Florentine,  from  Nor- 
mandy, to  the  most  serene  crown  of  France,  says. 


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304 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


that  you  would  be  informed  of  all  :  how,  by  the  im- 
petuous stress  of  the  winds,  we  were  compelled,  with 
only  the  ships  La  Normandie  and  La  Dauphine,  in  a 
damaged  condition,  to  put  back  to  Brittany,  where 
they  were  mended.  Your  serene  majesty  has  heard 
of  the  wandering  course  we  made  with  these,  armed 
as  in  war,  along  the  shores  of  Spain,  and  afterward  of 
the  new  purpo^>e  to  pursue,  with  the  Dauphine  alone, 
the  first  voyage,  from  which  having  returned,  I  will 
give  your  serene  majesty  an  account  of  what  we  dis- 
covered.' '■.'"v"-. 
"  From  the  desert-rock '  in  the  sea,  near  the  island 
of  Madeira  of  the  most  serene  king  of  Portugal,  we 
departed  with  the  said  Dauphine,  on  the  seventeenth 

'  Ilakl'iyt's  translation  of  the  letter  published  by  Ramusio,  in  1556,  begins 
with  these  words  . 

"  I  wrote  not  to  your  Maiesty,  most  Christian  King,  since  the  time  we 
suffered  the  Tempest  in  the  North  panes,  of  the  successe  of  the  foure  shippes, 
which  your  Maiestie  sent  forth  to  discouer  new  lands  by  tlie  Ocean,  thinking 
your  Maiestie  had  bene  already  duely  enformed  thereof.  Now  by  these  pres- 
ents I  will  give  your  Maiestie  to  understand  how  by  the  violence  of  the  Windes 
we  were  forced  with  the  two  shippes,  the  Norman  and  the  Dolphin  (in  such 
euill  case  as  they  were),  to  land  in  Britalne,  Where  after  wee  had  repayred 
them  in  all  poynts  as  was  needful,  and  armed  them  very  well,  we  took  our 
course  along  the  coast  of  Spaine,  which  your  Maiestie  shall  understand  by  the 
profile  that  wc  rccciucd  thereby.  Afterwards  with  the  Dolphin  alone  we  deter- 
mined to  make  discouerie  of  new  Countries,  to  prosecute  the  Nauigation  we 
had  already  begun,  which  I  purpose  at  the?  present  to  recount  unto  to  your 
Maiestie,  to  make  manifest  the  whole  proceeding  of  the  matter. 

"  The  17  of  January,  the  yeere  1524,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  we  departed 
from  the  dishabitcd  rocke  by  the  isle  of  Madeira  (Alii,  17.  Geiiaro,  1524.  Dio 
gratia  partlinino  dallo  scoglio  dishabitato),  appertaini-  3  to  the  king  of  Portugal, 
with  50  men,  with  victuals,  weapons,  and  other  ship-munition  very  well  pro- 
uided  and  furnished  for  eight  months  ;  and  sailing  Westward  with  a  faire  East- 
erly winde  (per  Ponente  naiiigando  con  vento  di  Leuante  assai  piaceuole),  in  25 
dayes  we  ran  500  leagues,  and  the  20  of  Februarie  (alii  20  Fcbrard),  we  were 
ouertaken  with  as  sharpe  and  terrible  a  tempest  as  euer  any  saylers  suffered, 
whereof  with  the  diuine  helpe  and  mcrciluU  assistance  of  Almighty  God,  and 
the  goodnesse  of  our  shippe.  accompanied  with  the  good  happe  of  her  fortunate 
name  we  were  delivered." — FiV^  Voyages.     London,  1600.     vol.  ii.     p.  295. 

'  One  of  three  islands  lying  in  a  row  from  north  to  south,  southeast  of  the 
island  of  Madeira,  in  north  latitude  32°  30',  off  the  west  coast  of  Africa.  The 
islands  are  called  Ilhas  Dczertas,  and  are  only  inhabited  by  sea-fowl. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


305 


of  the  past  month  of  January,  with  fifty  men,  furnished 
with  provisions,  arms,  and  other  martial  instruments, 
and  naval  stores  for  eight  months.  Sailing  westwardly, 
an  easterly  wind  blowing  pleasantly  and  moderately, 
we  ran  in  twenty-five  days  800  leagues.'  On  the 
fourteenth  of  February  {il  di  14  Fcbbrajo),  we  en- 
countered a  storm  as  severe  as  any  one  navigating 
ever  experienced,  from  which  we  were  enabled 
with  divine  help  and  goodness  to  escape,  to  the 
praise  of  the  glorious  and  fortunate  name  of  the 
ship,  which  endured  the  violent  waves  of  the  sea,  and 
we  pursued  our  voyage,  continuing  toward  the  west, 
holding  a  little  to  the  north.  In  twenty-five  more  days 
{in  venti  cinque  altri giorni),  we  ran  400  other  leagues, 
when  there  appeared  a  new  land,  never  before  seen  by 
men  in  ancient  or  modern  times. 

At  first  it  seemed  to  be  somewhat  low.  On  ap- 
proaching it  within  a  quarter  of  a  league,  we  saw  by 
the  large  fires  made  on  the  shore  that  it  was  inhabited. 
We  observed  that  the  coast  trended  toward  the  south, 
and  we  inspected  it  to  discover  some  harbor  which  we 
might  enter  with  the  ship  to  examine  the  nature  of  the 
land,  but  for  fifty  leagues  along  it  we  could  not  find  a 
convenient  haven  where  we  could  safely  stay.     Seeing 

'In  Vcnazzano's  geographical  explanation  of  the  voyage,  he  assigns  62J 
miles  to  a  degree  and  4  miles  to  a  marine  league.  According  to  this  data,  15I 
marine  leagues  equal  a  degree.  On  Thevet's  map  of  the  fourth  part  of  the 
world,  printed  in  1575,  is  a  scale  of  leagues  which  shows  that  a  marine  league 
was  double  the  length  of  a  French  league.  With  this  information  it  is  easy  to 
ascertain  the  length  of  a  degree  in  French  leagues  of  Vcrrazzano's  day  ;  31-}^ 
according  to  his  explanation,  equalling  a  degree.  Columbus  made  565  miles 
equal  an  equinoctial  degree  and  60  miles  equal  to  15  leagues.  Pigafetta  assigned 
17^  leagues  to  a  degree.  "The  land-league  is  three  miles,"  he  says,  "the 
sea-league  is  four."  The  modern  nautical  league  is  one-twentieth  of  a  degree, 
or  three  equatorial  miles  ot  3.45785  statute  miles.  A  sea-mile,  according  to  the 
United  States  standard,  is  equal  to  1. 152664  common  statute  or  land-miles. 
One  degree  of  longitude  at  the  equator  is  equal  to  69. 160  land-miles.  A  French 
geographical  league,  according  to  Vcrrazzano's  reckoning,  equals  2^  land-miles 
of  the  United  Stales  standard. 


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306 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


the  coast  continued  to  run  toward  the  south,  we  deter- 
mined to  turn  and  go  back  to  the  north,  where  we 
found  the  same  want  of  harbors  as  we  ascended  the 
coast." 

The  New  Land  [Nuova  Terra),  discovered  by  Ver- 
razzano,  was  first  seen  by  him  on  the  tenth  of  March, 
[old  style,)  being  that  part  of  the  coast  of  tlie  con- 
tinent now  inchided  in  the  present  territory  of  I^orth 
Carolina,  north  of  Cape  Fear,'  on  the  thirty-fourth  par- 
allel of  north  latitude.  It  appears  that  Verrazzano  had 
thought  of  finding  land  on  his  way  to  the  Indies,  for 
he  says  :  "  My  intention  in  this  voyage  was  to  reach 
Cathay,  on  the  extreme  coast  of  Asia,  expecting,  how- 
ever, to  find  in  the  newly  discovered  land  some  such 
obstacle  as  I  found." 

"  Ordering  a  boat  to  carry  us  ashore,  we  beheld," 
says  Verrazzano,  "  many  people  who  had  collected  on 
the  beach.  Seeing  us  approaching,  they  fled.  Some, 
however,  turned  and  gazed  at  us  with  much  curiosity. 
Assuring  them  by  various  signs,  a  number  came  near, 
manifesting  great  delight  in  scrutinizing  the  peculiarities 
of  our  clothing,  figure,  and  whiteness.  They  indicated 
by  signs  where  we  could  most  easily  land  with  the 
boat,  and  proffered  us  some  of  their  food.  What  we 
were  able  to  learn  of  their  life  and  customs  while  on 
land,  I  will  briefly  relate  to  your  majesty. 

"They  go  nearly  naked,  wearing  only  about  the 
loins  some  skins  of  small  animals  similar  to  the 
martens.  A  girdle  of  woven  grass  encircles  the  body, 
to  which  they  fasten  the  tails  of  animals,  which  hang 
down  as  far  as  the  knees.  All  the  rest  of  the  body  is 
nude,  as  is  also  the  head.  Some  of  the;  1  wear  drapery 
in  like  manner  made  of  the  feathers  of  birds.    The  color 

'  Cape  Fear  is  in  33°  48'  north  latitude.' 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


307 


of  these  people  is  black  (nert),  not  very  different  from 
that  oi  the  Ethiopians.  Their  hair  is  black  and  thick, 
but  not  very  long  ;  it  is  worn  tied  back  upon  the  head 
in  the  form  of  a  little  tail.'  In  person  they  are  of  good 
proportion,  of  middle-stature,  a  little  above  our  own, 
broad  across  the  breast,  strong  in  the  arms,  and  well- 
formed  in  the  legs  and  other  parts  of  the  body ;  the 
only  exception  to  their  good  looks  is  that  they  have 
broad  faces,  but  not  all  of  them,  for  we  saw  many 
who  had  sharp  ones,  with  large  black  eyes  and  a 
fixed  expression.  They  are  not  very  strong  in  body, 
but  acute  in  mind,  active  and  swift  of  foot  as  far  as 
we  could  perceive  by  observation.  They  greatly  re- 
semble in  these  two  last  particulars  the  people  of 
the  East,  especially  those  of  the  remote  regions.  We 
were  not  able  to  learn  much  concerning  their  habits  on 
account  of  our  short  stay  on  land  and  the  distance  of 
our  ship  from  the  shore." 

Verrazzano  designated  his  first  lar  Jing-place  on 
the  coast  of  the  New  Land  by  calling  it  Diepa,  the 
Italian  form  of  the  French  name  Dieppe,  that  of  the 
port  from  which  he  had  sailed  to  make  discoveries  in 
the  western  hemisphere.  Visconte  de  Maiollo,  on  his 
map  of  the  world  made  in  1 527,  places  the  name  Diepa 
on  the  coast  of  Francesca,  a  little  north  of  Terra 
Florida."    -■.-■l^V::-.--::  ^- v 

Describing  his  next  place  of  anchorage,  Verrazzano 
says :  "  We  found  not  far  from  this  people  another, 
whose  mode  of  life  we  judged  to  be  similar  to  that  of 

'  The  translation  of  Verrazzano's  letter  by  Joseph  G.  Cogswell,  contained 
in  the  New  York  Historical  Society's  collections,  second  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  37- 
54,  will  be  followed  hereafter,  except  when  a  better  rendering  may  be  presented. 

•  Vide  section  of  Maiollo  map  in  the  cover-pocket.  The  scale  of  latitudes 
on  the  margin  of  this  part  of  the  map  has  been  appended  to  indicate  the  posi- 
tion given  to  places  by  Visconte  de  Maiollo.  A  similar  scale  is  enj^raved  on 
another  part  of  the  rare  map. 


1';;; 


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308 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


the  former.  The  whole  shore  is  covered  with  fine  sand 
about  fifteen  feet  deep,  rising  in  the  form  of  Httle  hills 
about  fifty  paces  broad.  Ascending  farther,  we  found 
several  arms  of  the  sea  which,  entering  through  inlets, 
washed  the  shore  on  each  side  as  the  coast  trends. 
An  extensive  country  appears,  rising  somewhat  above 
the  level  of  the  sandy  beach  in  beautiful  fields  and 
broad  plains,  covered  with  immense  forests,  more  or 
less  dense,  the  foliage  of  the  trees  being  of  various 
colors,  too  attractive  and  ch£ .  ming  to  be  described.  I 
do  not  believe  that  these  are  like  the  Hcrcynian  forest, 
or  the  rough  solitudes  of  Scythia,  or  the  northern 
regions  full  of  vines  and  trees,  but  growing  with  palms,' 
laurels,  cypresses,  and  other  varieties  of  trees  unknown 
in  Europe,  which  exhale  a  very  sweet  fragrance  a 
great  distance.  We  could  not  examine  them  closely 
for  the  reasons  already  mentioned,  and  not  on  account 
of  any  difficulty  in  traversing  the  woods,  which,  on  the 
contrary,  are  easily  penetrated. 

"  As  the  Orient  stretches  around  to  this  country,' 
I  do  not  think  that  it  is  devoid  of  the  same  kind  of 
drugs  and  aromatic  iiquors,  nor  of  other  resources  as 
gold  and  the  like,  which  the  color  of  the  earth  indi- 
cated.3  The  country  abounds  with  many  animals  as 
deer,  stags,  hares,  and  the  like.  It  is  plentifully  sup- 
plied with  lakes  and  ponds  of  running  water,  and  with 
a  great  variety  of  birds,  fit  and  useful  for  every  kind  of 
pleasant  and  delightful  sport.     This  land  lies  in  34°. 

'  Palmetto  trees. 

*  It  was  not  until  1728  that  this  conception  of  the  navigator  was  disproved. 
Then  Vitus  Behring  discovered  the  strait  which  divides  the  two  continents. 
The  distance  between  East  Cape  in  Asia  and  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  on  the  con- 
tinent of  America  is  forty-five  miles. 

•  "Ni  pensiamo  participando  dello  oriente  per  la  circumferenza  sieno  senza 
qualche  drogfitria  o  liquore  aromatico,  tt  altre  divitie  oro  ed  altro  del  quale  colore 
la  turra  tutta  tende." 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


ii 


309 


The  air  is  salubrious,  pure,  and  of  a  temperature 
neither  hot  nor  cold.  There  are  no  impetuous  winds 
in  these  regions,  the  most  prevalent  being  the  north- 
west and  west. 

"  When  we  were  there  in  summer-time  the  sky 
was  clear  with  little  rain,  and  if  fogs  and  mists  were  at 
any  time  driven  in  by  the  south  wind,  they  quickly 
disappeared,  and  the  sky  became  again  serene  and 
bright.  The  sea  is  tranquil  and  not  stormy.  Although 
the  whok  coast  is  low  and  without  harbors,  it  is  not 
dangerous  to  navigate,  being  free  from  rocks  and  bold, 
so  that  within  four  or  five  fathoms  from  the  shore 
there  are  twenty-four  feet  of  water  at  all  times  of  tide, 
and  this  depth  uniformly  increases  as  you  go  farther 
into  the  sea.  The  holding  ground  is  so  good  that  no 
ship  can  part  her  cable,  however  strong  the  wind  may 
be,  as  we  proved  by  experience,  for  while  riding  at 
anchor  on  the  coast  we  were  overtaken  by  a  gale  in 
the  beginning  of  March,  when  the  winds  are  high,  as  is 
usual  in  all  countries,  and  we  found  our  anchor  broken 
before  it  started  from  its  place  or  moved  at  all." 

"  March  being  the  season  in  our  southern  climate, 
when  vegetation  of  all  kinds  is  putting  forth,"  says  an 
American  writer,  residing  in  South  Carolina,  "  the 
woods  presented  to  the  stranger  a  greater  variety  of 
charms  than  he  had  ever  beheld.  The  trees,  green 
and  beautiful  with  the  living  verdure  of  our  early 
spring,  were  bending  down  with  rich  clusters  of  golden 
jessamine,  which  spread  their  rich  perfume  over  the 
whole  air,  while  the  underbrush  embraced  a  collection 
of  aromatic  shrubs  and  wild  flowers,  which  might  easily 
be  mistaken  for  the  rich  spices  of  oriental  production." ' 

After  inspecting  the  sandy,  harborless  shore  of  On- 

'  Historical  collections  of  South  Carolina.    By  B.  R.  Carroll,   vol.  i.   p.  xxi.. 


I;* 


u  m 


310 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA, 


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slow  Bay,  Verrazzano  sailed  eastwardly  ir.  order  to 
double  Cape  Lookout,  in  34°  37'  north  latitude.  ••  We 
set  sail  from  this  place,"  he  says,  "  continuing  to  coast 
along  the  shore,  which  we  found  turned  to  the  west, 
[east  in  the  direction  in  which  he  was  sailing].  The 
inhabitants  were  numerous,  for  we  saw  every-where 
many  fires.'  While  at  anchor  on  this  coast,  there  being 
no  harbor  to  enter,  we  sent  the  boat  to  the  shore  with 
twenty-five  men  to  obtain  water,  but  it  was  impossible 
to  land  without  endangering  the  boat,  on  account  of 
tiie  very  high  surf  thrown  upon  the  shore  by  the  sea, 
as  it  was  an  open  roadstead.'  Many  natives  came  to 
the  beach,  and  signified  by  various  friendly  signs  that 
we  might  trust  ourselves  on  land.  One  of  their  noble 
deeds  of  friendship  deserves  to  be  made  known  to  your 
majesty.  A  young  sailor  was  attempting  to  swim 
ashore  through  the  surf  to  carry  them  some  knick- 
knacks,  as  little  bells,  looking-glasses,  and  similar 
trifles,  when  after  approaching  near  to  three  or  four 
natives  and  casting  them  the  things  and  turning  about 
to  get  back  o  the  boat,  he  was  overturned  by  the 
waves  and  so  dashed  by  them  upon  the  beach  that  he 
lay  there  as  if  he  were  dead.  When  the  people  saw 
him  in  this  condition  they  ran  and  took  him  up  by  the 
head,  legs,  and  arms,  and  carried  him  some  distance 
from  the  surf.  The  young  man,  finding  himself  borne 
off  in  this  way,  uttered  very  loud  shrieks  in  fear  and 
dismay,  while  they  answered  as  best  they  could  in 
their  language,  intimat'ng  that  he  had  no  cause  for 
fear.  Afterward  they  laid  him  down  at  the  foot  of  a 
little  hill,  where  they  took  off  his  shirt  and  trousers,  and 

'  In  Ramusio's  text  the  word  is  orienfe,  east.  Raccolta  di  navigationi  e 
viaggi.     Ramusio.     vol.  ii.     fol.  350. 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  aborigines  to  set  fire  to  the  underbrush  in  spring  to 
enable  them  to  hunt  and  to  inclose  game  within  the  limits  of  the  burning  wood. 

*  The  harbor  of  Beaufort  was  too  far  inland  to  be  seen  by  Verrazzano. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


3" 


examined  him,  expressing  the  greatest  astonishment 
at  the  whiteness  of  his  skin.  Our  sailors  in  the  boat 
seeing  a  great  fire  kindled  and  their  companion  placed 
very  near  it,  full  of  fear,  as  is  usual  in  all  cases  of  a 
novel  character,  imagined  that  the  natives  were  about 
to  roast  him  for  food.  But  as  soon  as  he  had  recovered 
his  strength,  after  a  short  stay  with  them,  and  had 
shown  by  signs  that  he  wished  to  return  to  the  boat, 
they  affectionately  hugged  him  and  accompanied  him 
to  the  beach,  where  leaving  him,  they  withdrew  to  a 
little  hill,  that  he  might  feel  more  free,  and  watched 
him  until  he  was  safe  in  the  boat.  This  young  man 
reported  that  these  people  were  black  as  the  others, 
that  they  had  shining  skin,  middle-stature,  but  sharper 
faces  and  very  delicate  bodies  and  limbs,  and  that  they 
were  inferior  in  strength  but  quicker  in  thought.  This 
is  all  he  observed." 

After  this  adventure,  which  likely  occurred  some- 
where on  the  coast  near  the  thirty-sixth  parallel,  per- 
haps in  the  vicinity  of  Roanoke  Island,  North  Caro- 
lina, Verrazzano  steered  northwardly,  and  while  sailing 
at  night  passed  by  the  entrance  to  Chesapeake  Bay 
and  anchored  off  the  coast  of  Virginia,  some  distance 
north  of  Cape  Charles,  which  is  in  37°  3'. 

"Departing  from  this  place  [the  coast  of  North 
Carolina],  and  always  following  the  coast  which  trended 
toward  the  north,  we  came,"  says  Verrazzano,  *'  in  the 
space  of  fifty  leagues  to  another  land,  which  appeared 
very  beautiful  and  full  of  large  forests.  We  approached 
it  and  going  ashore  with  twenty  men,  went  back  from 
the  coast  about  two  leagues,  and  found  that  the  people 
had  fled  and  hid  themselves  in  the  woods  in  fear.  By 
searching  around  we  discovered  in  the  grass  a  very 
old   woman  with   a  young  girl  of  about  eighteen  or 


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312 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


twenty  years  of  age,  who  had  concealed  themselves 
for  the  same  reason.  The  old  woman  carried  two  in- 
*'ants  on  her  shoulders,  and  behind  her  neck  a  little  boy 
about  eight  years  old.  When  we  came  upon  them 
they  began  to  shriek  and  make  signs  to  the  men  i^'ho 
had  tied  to  the  woods.  We  gave  them  a  part  of  our 
provisions,  which  they  accepted  with  delight,  but  the 
girl  would  not  touch  any,  every  thing  we  ofifered  to 
her  being  thrown  down  in  great  anger.  We  took  the 
little  boy  from  the  old  woman  to  carry  him  with  us  to 
France,  and  would  have  taken  the  girl  also,  who  was 
very  beautiful  and  very  tall,  but  it  was  impossible  on 
account  of  the  piercing  shrieks  she  uttered,  when  we 
attempted  to  lead  her  away.  Having  to  pass  some 
woods,  and  being  far  from  the  ship,  we  determined  to 
leave  her  and  only  take  the  boy.  We  found  these 
people  fairer  (piii  bianchi)  than  those  we  had  passed. 
From  certain  grasses  hanging  from  the  branches  of 
trees,  they  make  their  clothing  ;  the  grasses  being 
woven  together  with  threads  of  wild  hemp.  Their 
heads  were  uncovered  and  of  the  same  shape  as  the 
other  natives  we  had  seen.  Their  food  is  a  kind  of 
pulse  which  abounds  there,  different  in  color  and  in 
size  from  ours,  and  of  a  very  pleasant  taste.  Besides 
they  use  birds  and  fish  for  food,  which  they  take  with 
snares,  and  bows  made  of  hard  wood.  Their  arrows 
are  reeds,  in  the  ends  of  which  they  fasten  the  bones 
of  fish  and  of  animals.  The  animals  in  these  regions 
are  wilder  than  those  in  Europe  by  being  more  fre- 
quently molested  by  those  hunting  them.  We  saw 
many  of  their  boats  constructed  of  a  single  tree, 
twenty  feet  long  and  four  feet  wide,  fabricated  without 
the  use  of  stone  or  iron  or  other  metal.  Along  the 
.whole  coast  which  we  explored  for  the  space  of  two 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


313 


hundred  leagues,  we  saw  no  stone  of  any  sort.  To 
hollow  out  the  log  they  burn  as  much  of  it  as  will  form 
the  concave  part  of  the  boat,  and  also  form  the  ends 
which  are  to  be  the  prow  and  stern,  to  make  the  boat 
float  well.  The  land  in  situation,  fertility,  and  beauty 
is  like  the  other,  covered  with  forests,  filled  with  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  trees  but  not  such  fragrant  ones,  since 
the  refjion  is  farther  north  and  colder." 

While  exploring  tl  e  peninsula  of  Virginia,  the 
warm-hearted  and  sympathetic  Florentine  was  pleas- 
ingly reminded  of  his  own  delightful  country  by  seeing 
many  wild  grape-vines  festooning  the  tall  forest  trees. 
He  observed  that  the  savages  carefully  removed  the 
shading  shrubbery  near  the  prolific  vines,  so  that  the 
ripening  rays  of  the  sun  could  fall  on  the  green  fruit. 

"  We  saw  in  this  country,"  he  says,  "many  vines 
growing  nviturally,  entwining  themselves  about  the 
trees,  climbing  as  they  do  in  Cisalpine  Gaul,  which,  if 
they  were  dressed  in  the  right  way  of  cultivation  by 
husbandmen,  they  would  produce  without  doubt  the 
best  of  wines,  because  often  the  fruit  of  that  drinking 
is  agreeable  and  sweet,  seeing  It  is  not  different  from 
our  own,  i^perche piu  volte  ilfrutio  di  qiicllo  bcendo,  veg- 
gendo  suave  e  dolce  non  dal  nostra  differente).  The 
vines  are  held  in  high  estimation  by  the  inhabitants, 
for  they  take  away  all  the  surrounding  concealing 
shrubbery  to  enable  the  fruit  to  grow.* 

'  In  Ilakluyt's  translation  of  the  text  of  Ramusio's  condensed  copy  of  Ver- 
razzano's  letter  is  the  following  respecting  the  vines  of  Virginia  :  "  We  s:;w  in 
this  country  many  vines  growing  naturally,  which,  growing  up,  took  holde  of 
the  trees  as  they  doe  in  Lombardic,  which  if  by  husbandmen  they  were  dressed 
in  good  order,  without  all  doubt  they  would  yceld  excellent  wines  ;  for  hauing 
oftentimes  scene  the  fruit  thereof  dryed  ;  which  was  sweete  and  pleasant,  and 
not  differing  from  ours,  we  tliinke  that  they  doe  esteeme  the  same,  because 
in  euery  place  where  they  growe,  they  lake  away  the  under  branches  growing 
round  about,  that  the  fruit  thereof  may  ripen  the  better." — Voyages.  H.ikluyt. 
vol.  ii.     p.  297. 


jM 


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ii 


314 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


"  We  also  found,"  Verrazzano  further  relates,"  wild 
roses,  violets,  lilies,  and  many  kinds  of  plants  and 
fragrant  flowers  differing  from  our  own.  We  cannot 
describe  the  habitations  of  the  people  as  the  structures 
were  in  the  interior,  but  from  various  indications  we 
concluded  they  were  formed  of  trees  and  shrubs. 
There  were  also  many  signs  which  led  us  to  suppose 
that  the  inhabitants  often  sleep  in  the  open  air  without 
any  covering  but  the  sky.  We  are  ignorant  of  their 
other  habits.  We  believe,  however,  that  all  the  people 
we  were  among  live  in  the  same  way." 

When  Verrazzano  was  on  land  with  the  twenty 
men,  he  crossed  the  narrow  peninsula  of  Virginia  and 
beheld  the  wide  expanse  of  Chesapeake  Bay.'  This 
great  body  of  water,  stretching  toward  the  north  and 
south  as  far  as  he  could  see,  and  spreading  westward  to 
an  unknown  distance,  led  the  surprised  explorer  to 
imagine  that  it  was  a  part  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  [Mare 
Iizdicum),  by  which,  if  there  were  a  navigable  entrance 
to  it,  he  might  sail  to  Cathay."  Ignorant  of  the  fact  that 
he  had  already  passed  at  night  the  channel  leading  to  this 
expanse  of  water,  Verrazzano  entertained  the  thought 
that  he  might  discover  one  along  the  coast  farther 
northward.  Although  he  determined  not  to  sail  again 
at  night  along  the  New  Land,  and  resolved  to  inspect 
its  coast  more  closely  thereafter,  he  failed  to  find  a 
passage  to  the  assumed  western  sea,  when  he  sailed 
northward.     After  returning  to  France,  he  made  a  map 

'Chesapeake  Bay  "  extends  igo  miles  from  its  mouth,  into  the  States  of 
Virginia  and  Maryland  ;  it  is  from  ;  to  twenty  miles  broad,  and  generally  9 
fathoms  deep." 

The  peninsula  is  "  about  60  miles  long,  and  from  10  to  15  wide,  and 
bounded  toward  the  sea  b'  a  string  of  low  sandy  islets.  The  waters  of  the 
Chesapeake  enter  the  sea  between  Cape  Charles  and  Cape  Henry,  forming  a 
strait  of  fifteen  miles  in  width." — Gazetteer  of  Virginia  and  the  District  of 
Columbia.     By  Joseph  Martin.     1835.     pp.  23,  i8. 

'  Vide  MaioUo  map  of  1527  in  the  cover-pocket. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


315 


on  which  he  represented  this  sea  separated  from  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  by  a  narrow  neck  of  land,  similar  in  out- 
line and  situation  to  the  northern  part  of  the  peninsula 
of  Virginia.  This  is  corroborated  by  Hakluyt,  the 
English  collector,  who  says :  "  Master  John  Verazanus, 
which  had  been  thrise  on  that  coast,  in  an  olde  excel- 
lent mappe  which  he  gave  to  King  Henrie  the  eight, 
and  is  yet  in  the  custodie  of  Master  Locke,  doth  so  lay 
it  out."'  '* 

Verrazzano's  brother,  Hieronymus,  also  made  a  map 
of  New  France,  on  which  he  placed  this  explanatory 
inscription  respecting  this  part  of  the  coast,  which  he 
also  delineates  as  a  narrow  tract  of  land  :  "  From  this 
eastern  sea  [the  Atlantic]  one  beholds  the  western  sea ; 
there  are  six  miles  of  land  between  them."  '  The  Sea 
of  Verrazzano  {Mare  cie  Verrazana),  represented  on 
the  fan-shaped  map  made  by  Michael  Locke,  in  i582," 
was,  as  Hakluyt  affirms,  "  according  to  Verazanus 
plat,"  which  "  laieth  out  the  sea  makinge  a  little  netke 
of  land  in  40  degrees  of  latitude  much  like  the  streyte 
necke  or  istmus  of  Dariena."  ^ 

Sailing  northwardly  from  the  peninsula  of  Virginia, 
Verrazzano  proceeded  leisurely  along  the  coast 
searching  for  an  entrance  to  the  so-called  western 
sea.  Although  he  does  not  speak  of  entering  Dela- 
ware Bay,  there  is  no  testimony  to  contradict  the  as'ser- 
tion  that  he  explored  it.  Describing  his  voyage  along 
the  coasts  of  the  present  states  of  Maryland,  Delaware, 
and  New  Jersey,  Verrazzano  writes  :  "  After  hav- 
ing remained   here     three   days,    riding    at    anchor 

'  "  Epistle  dedicatorie  "  to  Hakluyt's  Divers  voyages,  1582. 

'  "  Da  qucsto  mare  orimtale  si  vede  il  viare  occidenlale  i  sono  6  miglia  di 
terra  infra  /'  uno  a  /'  altro." 

'  Hakluyt's  Particular  discourse,  1584. 

The  English  collector  illustrates  his  Divers  voyages  with  Locke's  map, 
which  the  English  cartographer  dedicated  to  Sir  Philip  Sidney. 


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DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


ji  n 


off  the  coast  [of  Virginia],  for  we  could  not  find  a 
harbor,  we  determined  to  depart,  sailing  always 
along  the  shore,  which  trended  to  the  northeast,  only 
navigating  inda)^•time  and  coming  to  anchor  at  night." 

About  the  last  of  April,  1524,  the  Dauphine  arrived 
off  the  low  point  of  land,  now  called  Sandy  Hook, 
designated  on  Maiollo's  map  of  1 627  as  C.  de  S.  Maria 
(Cape  of  St.  Mary).'  Seeing  the  convenient  haven 
north  of  it,  Verrazzano  changed  the  vessel's  course  and 
slowly  sailed  into  the  spacious  roadstead.  Having 
found  a  suitable  riding-place,  the  French  barque  cast 
her  anchor  in  the  sigrht  of  a  multitude  of  interested 
natives,  who  from  the  neighboring  hills  witnessed  the 
first  mooring  of  a  European  ship  in  the  tranquil  waters 
of  the  large  bay. 

The  ship's  boat  being  manned,  Verrazzano  began 
to  explore  the  mouth  of  the  great  river,  as  he  designated 
the  channel  now  called  the  Narrows.  Eacfer  to  know 
the"  destination  of  the  strange  explorers,  the  curious 
natives  thronged  the  shores  of  Staten  and  Long  islands 
as  Verrazzano  and  his  men  passed  up  the  Narrows  in 
mid-stream  toward  the  upper  bay,  which  the  enthusiastic 
Italian  denominated  a  very  beautiful  lake.  Entering 
the  commodious  bay,  Verrazzano  hastily  surveyed  its 
islands  and  inlets,  the  mouth  of  the  noble  river  flowing 
into  it,  and  the  distant  highlands  dimly  defined  along 
the  northern  horizon.  Describing  his  short  exploration 
of  the  upper  bay  of  New  York,  Verrazzano  writes  : 

"  At  the  end  of  one  hundred  leagues  we  discovered 
a  very  delightful  place  among  some  small  hills,  eminen- 
ces, between  which  ran  a  very  great  river  {una  gran- 
dissima  riviera)  to  the  ocean,  which  was  deep  within 
to  the  mouth,  and  from  the  sea  to  the  enlargement  of 

*  Sandy  Hook  light-house  is  in  40°  27'  39"  north  latitude. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


317 


the  bay  the  rise  of  the  tide  was  eight  feet,  and  through 
it  any  heavy  ship  car*  pass.' 

"  As  in  good  duty  we  did  not  wish  to  run  the  risk 
of  penetrating  the  coast  without  knowledge  of  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  we  took  the  boat  and  entered  the  river  with- 
in the  country  where  we  found  it  to  be  thickly  inhabited 
and  the  people  resembling  the  others  we  had  seen, 
adorned  with  birds'  feathers  of  different  colors,  coming 
toward  us  with  evident  delight,  uttering  very  loud  cries 
of  admiration,  indicating,  if  we  had  to  land  with  the 
boat,  where  it  was  most  safe.  We  entered  the  said 
river  within  the  country  about  half  a  league,  where 
we  saw  it  formed  a  most  beautiful  lake  [tm  bellissimo 
lago),  about  three  leagues  in  compass,  upon  which  v/e 
saw  boats,  thirty  in  number,  moving  from  one  part  to 
another  with  innumerable  people,  who  passed  from 
shore  to  shore  to  see  us.'  Very  suddenly,  as  is  wont 
to  happen  to  those  navigating,  an  impetuous  contrary 
wind  blew  in  from  the  sea,  compelling  us  to  return  to 
the  ship.  We  departed  from  this  region  with  much 
displeasure  on  account  of  its  extent  and  attractiveness, 
for  we  believed  that  it  was  not  without  some  resources 
of  wealth  as  all  the  hills  indicated  the  existence  of 
minerals  in  them." 

'  At  Sandy  Hook,  a  low,  sandy  point  of  land,  eighteen  miles  from  the  city 
of  New  York,  are  two  ship-channels  through  which  vessels  of  the  heaviest 
tonnage  can  pass.  Immediately  north  of  Sandy  Hook  is  the  spacious  road- 
stead called  the  Lower  Bay.  Between  Staten  Island,  north  of  it,  and  Long 
Island  is  the  Narrows,  a  channel  about  one  mile  and  a  half  long  by  one  wide. 
North  of  it  is  the  Upper  Bay  or  harbor  of  New  York. 

"  The  Upper  Bay  or  harbor  of  New  York,  about  eight  miles  long  by  five 
wide,  lies  between  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  River  on  the  north  Piid  the 
Narrows  on  the  south.  From  the  bay,  vessels  can  pass  into  the  East  River 
and  thence  to  Long  Island  Sound,  between  Long  Island  and  the  main-land. 
Westward  is  Newark  Bay,  through  which  vessels  can  pass  from  the  Upper  Bay 
of  New  York,  thence  into  Staten  Island  Sound,  thence  into  Raritan  Bay  and 
the  Lower  Bay.  The  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  in  the  harbor  of  New  York  is 
about  four  and  a  half  feet. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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;  As  a  geographical  designation  for  the  very  great 
river  (ima  grandissima  riviera),  the  name  Grande 
(Great)  River  was  used  by  some  of  the  most  celebrated 
map-makers  of  Europe,  during  the  sixteenth  century. 
In  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the  Dutch  took 
possession  of  this  part  of  New  France,  the  Dutch  syn- 
onym, •'  Groote,"  was  substituted  for  the  Italian  desig- 
nation. The  Spaniards,  who  explored  the  coast  of 
North  America  after  Verrazzano  had  inspected  it,  gave 
different  names  to  the  river. 

Henry  Hudson  was  induced  to  explore  the  Grande 
River  by  Captain  John  Smith,  who  believed  that  the 
English  navigator  could  find  a  strait  connecting  it  with 
the  western  sea  (Mare  Indicum)  delineated  on  Verraz- 
zano's  map.  In  the  summer  of  1609;  when  Hudson 
attempted  to  sail  to  Asia  by  a  passage  north  of  Novaya 
Zemlya,  and  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  project 
on  account  of  the  barrier  of  ice  surrounding  the  island, 
it  is  said  he  placed  before  the  officers  and  crew  of  the 
Half  Moon  (Halve  Maen),  the  choice  of  one  of  two  pro- 
posals. Respecting  the  proposals  of  which  they  had  the 
consideration,  the  Dutch  historian,  Van  Meteren,  thus 
speaks  :  "  Master  Hudson  gave  them  their  choice  of 
two  things,  the  first  was  to  go  to  the  coast  of  America, 
at  the  fortieth  degree  of  latitude,  mostly  incited  to  this 
by  letters  and  maps  which  a  certain  Captain  Smith  had 
sent  him  from  Virginia,  and  on  which  he  showed  him 
a  sea  by  which  he  might  circumnavigate  their  southern 
colony  [Virginia]  from  the  north,  and  from  there  pass 
into  a  western  sea.  The  other  proposal  was  to  seek 
the  passage  by  Davis's  Strait."  ^ 

Hudson,  besides  knowing  the  situation  of  the  noble 

*  Belgische  ofte  Nederlandsche  oorlogen  ende  geschiedenissen  beginnende 
van  't  jaer  1595  tot  i6ii. — Door  Emanuel  van  Meteren.  161 1.  Boek  xxx. 
fol.  327. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


319 


stream,  was  also  informed  that  it  was  called  the  Great 
(Grande)  River.  Robert  Juet,  the  journalist  of  the 
voyage  of  1609,  recording  the  incidents  of  the  last 
day's  exploration  of  the  river,  writes  :  "  Within  a 
while  after,  we  came  out  also  of  the  great  mouth  of 
the  great  Riuer."  ' 

De  Laet,  the  Dutch  historian,  writing  in  1625, 
mentions  the  fact  that  the  Dutch  used  the  name 
"  Great "  for  the  river  in  preference  to  all  the  other 
appellations  designating  it  :  "  The  great  north  river 
of  New  Netherland  was  called  by  some  the  Manhattes 
river,  from  the  people  who  dwell  near  its  mouth  ;  by 
others,  Rio  de  Montaignes  (River  of  the  Mountains), 
but  by  our  countrymen  it  was  mostly  called  '  ds  groote 
rieviere '  (the  Great  river)." "  As  early  as  the  year 
1624,  the  name  "  Hudson's  River"  was  inscribed  on 
maps  to  designate  the  stream  discovered  by  Verraz- 
zano.^    :'.',  -.::.,■/''■ 

Sailing  from  the  mouth  of  the  Grande  River,  be- 
tween the  Cape  of  Saint  Mary  (C.  de  S.  Maria)  and 
the  point  of  land  denominated  Anguileme  ♦  on  Maiollo's 
map  of  1 527,  Verrazzano  coasted  along  the  south  side 
of  Long  Island  for  fifty  leagues,  at  the  end  of  which 
he  passed  the  eastern   extremity  of  the  island,  now 

'  Purchas  his  Pilgrimes.     vol.  iii.     p.  595. 

*"Z><f  groote  tioordt  rievier  van  Nieuxv-Nederlandt  wordt  by  eenighe 
ghenoemt  de  Manhattes  rieviere  naer  volckeren  die  by  naer  aeiCt  begin  ofte  de 
mout  van  de  rieviere  woonen  ;  by  audere  oock  Rio  dc  Montaigne  ;  dock  by  de  ottse 
wordt  meest genoemt  de  groote  rieviere." — Nieuwe  Wereldt,  Door  Johannes  de 
Laet.     Tot  Leyden,  1625.     Boeck  iii.     cap.  ix. 

'  Vide  map  entitled :  't  Noorder  deal  van  West-Indien,  contained  in  the 
rare  work  in  Dutch  :  West-Indische  Spieghel.  Door  Alhanasium  Inga, 
Peruen,  van  Cusco.  Amsterdam,  1624.  The  map-maker's  name,  A.  Goos, 
is  inscribed  on  the  chart. 

*  Angouleme,  a  town  on  the  Charente  River,  in  France,  sixty-six  miles 
northeast  of  Bordeaux.  Angouleme,  with  the  territory  of  Angoumois,  was 
governed  from  the  ninth  to  the  fourteenth  century  by  counts.  Francis  I.,  be- 
fore he  became  king  of  France,  was  Comte  d'  Angouleme. 


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320 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA 


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called  Montauk  Point.  While  seeking,  durincf  a  storm, 
a  port  of  refuge  eastward  of  Long  Island,  Verrazzano 
discovered  the  island  now  called  Block  Island,  which 
he  describes  as  triangular  in  form,  and  in  size  about 
equal  to  the  island  of  Rhodes.'  Block  Island  lies 
southwest  of  Narragansett  Bay,  and  is  about  eight 
miles  long  and  about  five  miles  broad  at  its  widest 
part.  Verrazzano  called  it  Luisa,  the  name  of  the 
mother  of  King  Francis  I.,  Louise,  the  daughter  of 
Philippe,  duke  of  Savoy.  The  orthography  of  the 
Italian  name,  as  presented  by  Visconte  dc  Maiollo 
on  his  map  of  the  world  of  i527,  was  soon  corrupted 
by  map-makers,  and  on  a  number  of  charts  of  the  six- 
teenth century  it^  'i  inscribed  "  Brisa  "  and  "  Briso." 
The  names  "  Clai  .e  "  and  "  Claudia  "  appear  on  some 
maps  as  designations  for  it,  used  most  likely,  in  honor 
of  Claude,  the  wife  of  Francis  I.,  the  first  being  the 
French  orthography  of  the  appellation,  and  the  latter 
the  Italian. 

The  departure  of  the  Dauphine  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Grande  River,  Verrazzano  thus  describes  :  "  Weigh- 
ing anchor,  we  sailed  fifty  leagues  toward  the  east,  as 
the  coast  trended  in  that  direction,  and  always  in  sight 
of  it.  At  the  end  of  the  course  we  discovered  an 
island  of  a  triangular  form  about  ten  leagues  from  the 
main-land,  in  size  about  equal  to  the  island  of  Rhodes, 
having  many  hills  covered  with  trees,  and  well  peo- 
pled, judging  from  the  great  number  of  fires  we  saw 
all  around  it.  We  gave  it  the  name  of  your  majesty's 
illustrious  mother.  We  did  not  land  on  it,  as  the 
weather  was  unfavorable." 

Sailing  northeasterly  from  Block  Islai>  1,  the  Italian 
explorer  beheld  the  coast  of  the  main-land,  and  an- 

*  The  island  of  Rhodes,  lying  off  the  southwest  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  be- 
tween 35°  50'  and  36°  30'  north  latitude,  has  an  area  of  about  452  squaie  miles. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


321 


chored  the  Dauphine  in  Narragansett  Bay,  Rhode 
Island.  Speaking  of  the  discovery  of  the  commodious 
bay,  designated  on  MaioUo's  map  by  the  Italian  name, 
"  Refugio,"  Verrazzano  says  : 

"  We  proceeded  to  another  place  fifteen  leagues 
distant  from  the  island,  where  we  found  a  very  excel- 
lent harbor.  Before  entering  it  we  saw  about  twenty 
small  boats  filled  with  people,  who  came  to  the  ship 
with  various  cries  and  wonderment.  But  they  would 
not  approach  nearer  than  fifty  paces.  Stopping,  they 
lookf^.d  at  the  structure  of  the  ship,  our  persons,  and 
dress.  Afterward  they  all  cried  out  loudly  together, 
signifyinoj  that  they  were  delighted.  By  imitating 
their  signs  we  inspired  them  with  a  measure  of  confi- 
dence, so  that  they  came  near  enough  for  us  to  toss 
them  some  little  bells  and  glasses  and  many  toys, 
which  they  took  and  looked  at  laughing,  and  then 
came  on  board  without  fear.  Among  them  were  two 
kings  more  attractive  in  form  and  stature  than  can  be 
described.  One  was  about  forty  years  old,  the  other 
about  twenty-four,  and  they  were  dressed  in  the  fol- 
lowing fashion. 

"  The  elder  king  had  the  skin  of  a  deer  wrapped 
around  his  nude  body,  artificially  made  with  various 
embroideries  to  decorate  it.  His  head  was  bare.  His 
hair  was  bound  behind  with  various  bands,  and  around 
his  neck  he  wore  a  large  chain  ornamented  with  many 
stones  of  different  colors.  The  younger  king  was  like 
him  in  appearance.  This  was  the  finest-looking  people 
and  the  handsomest  in  their  costumes  that  we  found 
in  our  voyage.  They  exceed  us  in  size,  and  are  of  a 
very  fair  complexion  {soiio  di  colore  bianchissimo) ; 
some  of  them  incline  more  to  a  white,  and  others  to  a 
tawny  color.     Their  faces  are  sharp ;  their  hair  is  long 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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and  black,  on  the  adornment  of  which  they  bestow 
great  care.  Their  eyes  are  black  and  keen  ;  their 
demeanor  is  gentle  and  att  active,  very  much  like  that 
of  the  ancients.  I  sa;"'  nothing  to  your  majesty  of  the 
other  parts  of  the  body  that  are  all  in  good  proportion 
as  belong  to  well-formed  men. 

"The  women  resemble  them  in  size,  and  are  very 
graceful  and  handsome,  and  quite  attractive  in  dress 
and  manners.  They  had  no  other  clothing  except  a 
deer-skin,  ornamented  as  were  the  skins  worn  by  the 
men.  Some  had  very  rich  lynx-skins  upon  their  arms, 
and  wore  various  ornaments  upon  their  heads,  braided 
in  their  hair,  which  hung  down  upon  their  breasts. 
Others  wore  different  ornaments,  such  as  those  of  the 
women  of  Egypt  and  Syria.  The  older  and  the  mar- 
ried people,  both  men  and  women,  wore  many  orna- 
ments in  their  ears,  hanging  down  in  Oriental  fashion. 

"  We  saw  on  them  pieces  of  wrought  copper,  which 
is  more  esteemed  by  them  than  gold,  the  latter  being 
deemed  the  most  ordinary  of  metals,  yellow  being  a 
color  much  disliked  by  them.  Blue  and  red  are  the 
colors  which  they  value  most  highly.  Of  the  things 
which  we  gave  them,  they  preferred  the  bells,  azure 
crystals,  and  other  toys,  which  they  hung  in  their  ears 
and  about  their  necks.  They  do  not  value  or  desire  to 
have  silk  or  gold-drapery,  or  other  kinds  of  cloth,  nor 
implements  of  steel  or  iron.  When  we  showed  them 
our  weapons,  they  expressed  no  admiration,  and  only 
asked  how  they  were  made.  The  same  indifference 
was  manifested  when  they  were  given  the  looking- 
glasses,  which  they  with  smiles  returned  to  us  as  soon 
as  they  had  looked  at  them.  They  are  very  generous, 
giving  away  whatever  they  have. 

"  We  formed  a  great  friendship  with  them,  and  one 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


323 


day  wr"  entercfd  into  port  with  our  ship,  havinjj  before 
rode  at  the  distance  of  a  league  from  the  shore,  as  the 
weather  was  unfavorable.  They  came  to  the*  ship  with 
a  number  of  their  little  boats,  with  their  faces  painted 
with  different  colors,  manifesting  real  signs  of  joy, 
bringing  us  of  their  provisions,  and  signifying  to  us 
where  we  could  best  ride  in  safety  with  our  ship, 
and  keeping  with  us  until  we  had  cast  anchor. 

"  We  remained  among  them  fifteen  days  to  pro- 
vide ourselves  with  many  things  of  which  we  were  in 
want,  during  which  time  they  came  every  day  to  see 
our  ship-,  bringing  with  them  their  wives,  of  whom  they 
were  very  careful,  for,  although  they  came  on  board 
themselves,  and  remained  a  long  while,  they  made 
their  wives  stay  in  the  boats,  nor  could  we  ever  get 
them  on  board  by  any  solicitations  or  any  presents  we 
could  make  them.  One  of  the  two  kings,  however, 
often  came  with  his  queen  and  many  attendants  to  see 
us  for  his  amusement.  But  he  always  stopped  on  land 
at  the  distance  of  about  two  hundred  paces  from  us, 
and  sent  a  boat  to  announce  his  intended  visit,  saying 
they  would  come  and  see  our  ship.  This  was  done 
for  safety,  and  as  soon  as  they  had  received  our  an- 
swer, they  came  and  remained  some  time  to  look 
around.  On  hearing  the  annoying  cries  of  the  sailors, 
the  king  sent  the  queen,  with  her  attendants,  in  a  very 
light  boat  to  wait,  near  an  island,  a  quarter  of  a  league 
distant,  while  he  remained  a  long  time  on  board,  talk- 
ing with  us  by  signs,  and  expressing  his  fanciful  no- 
tions about  every  thing  in  the  ship,  and  asking  the  use 
of  all.  After  imitating  our  modes  of  salutation,  and 
tasting  our  food,  he  courteously  took  leave  of  us. 
Once,  when  our  men  remained  two  or  three  days  on 
a  small  island  near  the  ship  for  their  various  necessi- 


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324 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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ties,  as  sailors  are  wont  to  do,  he  came  with  seven  or 
eiglv  of  his  attendants  to  inquire  about  our  movements, 
often  asking  us  if  we  intended  to  remain  there  ionof, 
and  offering  us  every  thing  at  his  command.  Some- 
times he  would  shoot  with  his  bow,  and  run  up  and 
down  with  his  people,  making  great  sport  for  us.  We 
often  went  five  or  six  leagues  into  the  interior,  and 
found  the  country  as  pleasant  as  can  be  conceived, 
adapted  to  cultivation  of  every  kind,  whether  of  corn, 
wine,  or  oil.  There  are  open  plains  twenty-five  and 
thirty  leagues  in  length,  entirely  ff"ee  from  trees  or 
other  obstructions,  and  so  fertile  that  whatever  is  sown 
there  will  yield  an  excellent  crop.  On  entering  the 
woods,  we  observed  that  they  might  all  be  traversed 
by  any  large  army.  The  trees  in  them  were  oaks,  cy- 
presses, and  others  unknown  in  Europe.  We  found, 
also,  apples,  plums,  filberts,  and  many  other  fruits,  but 
of  a  different  kind  from  ours.  The  animals,  which  are 
in  great  numbers,  stags,  deer,  lynx,  and  many  other 
kinds,  are  taken  with  snares  and  by  bows  ;  the  latter  is 
the  principal  weapon  of  the  natives.  X^eir  arrows  are 
beautifully  made.  For  points  they  use  emery,  jasper, 
hard  marble,  and  other  sharp  stones  instead  of  iron. 
They  also  use  the  same  kind  of  sharp  stones  in  cutting 
down  trees,  and  with  them  construct  their  boats  of  simple 
logs,  hollowed  out  with  admirable  skill,  and  sufificient- 
ly  commodious  to  seat  ten  or  twelve  persons.  Their 
oars  are  short,  widi  broad  blades,  and  are  rowed  by 
the  force  of  the  arms,  with  the  greatest  care  and  as 
rapidly  as  they  wish. 

"  We  saw  their  dwellings,  which  are  circular  in  form, 
about  ten  or  twelve  paces  in  circumference,  made  of 
logs  split  in  half,  without  any  regularity  of  architecture, 
and  covered  with  roofs  of  straw,  nicely  put  on,  which 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


325 


protect  them  from  wind  and  rain.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  they  would  build  stately  edifices  if  they  had  work- 
men as  skillful  as  ours,  for  the  whole  sea-coast  abounds 
with  shining  stones,  crystals,  and  alabaster,  and  on  this 
account  it  has  dens  and  retreats  for  animals.  They 
change  their  habitations  from  place  to  place,  as  circum- 
stances of  situation  and  season  may  require.  This  is 
easily  done,  for  they  have  only  to  take  with  them  their 
mats,  and  they  have  other  houses  immediately  pre- 
pared. 

"  The  father  and  the  v/hole  family  dwell  together 
in  one  house.  In  some  of  their  houses  we  saw  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  persons.  Their  food  is  pulse,  as  that  of 
the  other  people,  which  is  here  better  than  elsewhere, 
and  more  carefully  cultivated.  In  the  time  of  sowing 
they  are  governed  by  the  moon,  which  they  think  ef- 
fects the  sprouting  of  the  grain.  They  have  many 
other  ancient  customs.  They  live  by  hunting  and 
fishing,  and  they  are  long  lived.  If  they  iail  sick  * 
*  ^' '  they  cure  themselves  without  medicine,  with 
the  heat  of  fire.  Death  coines  to  them  at  last  from 
extreme  old  a^e.  We  judged  them  to  be  very  affec- 
tionate and  charitable  toward  their  relatives,  for  they 
make  loud  lamentations  in  their  adversity,  and  in  their 
misery  call  to  remembrance  all  their  good  deeds. 
When  they  die  their  relations  mutually  join  in  weep- 
ing mingled  with  singing  for  a  long  vhile.  This  is  all 
that  we  could  learn  of  them. 

"  This  region  is  situated  on  the  parallel  of  Rome, 
in  4i|  degrees,  as  I  shall  narrate  hereafter  to  your 
serene  majesty.'  At  present  I  shall  describe  the  situa- 
tion of  this  place.     At  its  south  end  the  channel  is  nar- 

•  Blank  space  in  tlie  original  copy. 

•Newport  is  in  41°  29',  and  the  city  of  Providence  in  41°  49'  22"  north 
latitude. 


I 


i     t 


ir: 


I  .'. ,  . 


326 


DISCOVERIES   OF.  AMERICA. 


m 


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m 


ill' 


Pi 


row  and  a  half  league  wide.  It  extends,  between  east 
[south  ?],  and  north,  twelve  leagues.  Then  it  enlarges 
and  forms  a  very  spacious  bay  twenty  leagues  in  cir- 
cuit, in  which  are  five  small  islands,  very  fertile  and 
attractive,  and  covered  with  high  trees.  The  bay  is  so 
spacious  that  between  these  islands  any  number  of 
vessels  might  ride  at  ease  without  fear  of  tempests  and 
and  other  dangers.  At  the  entrance  of  the  bay,  farther 
south,  there  are  very  attractive  hills  on  both  sides  of 
the;  channel,  and  many  streams  of  clear  water  flow 
from  the  eminences  into  th*^;  sea.  In  the  middle  of  the 
mouth  there  is  a  rock  of  freestone  i^u7io  scoglio  di  viva 
pietra),  formed  by  nature  and  suitable  for  the  construc- 
tion of  any  kind  of  machine  or  bulwark  for  the  defence 
of  the  haven." 

Verrazzano's  description  of  Narragansett  Bay, 
named  Port  du  Refuge  on  Gastaldi's  map  of  i553,'  is 
so  accurate  that  without  any  other  information  it  would 
be  ea-.y  to  cietermine  the  situation  of  the  place  where 
for  fifteen  oays,  ending  the  sixth  of  May  [jld  sfyk),  he 
and  his  cew  held  familiar  intercourse  vvith  the  friendly 
Indians  inhabiting  the  islands  and  the  main-land  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  anchorage  of  the  Dauphine.  The  lati- 
tude of  the  bay  given  by  Verrazzano  cannot  be  gainsaid.' 

'  F/<.'«  Gast.n  Dili's  mp.p. 

*  As  described  by  a  late  writer  :  "Narragansett  Bay  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  sheets  of  w:.ler  in  the  United  States  ;  it  is  unrivalled  for  its  navigable 
advantages,  afording  at  all  times  a  safe  and  ready  oommunicailon  with  t!ie 
ocean;  an<"  its  shores,  whioh  are  indented  wiih  innumerable  bays  and  inlets 
containing  many  excellent  harbors.  This  bay  *  *  *  extends  more 
than  thirty  miles  into  the  interior  of  the  state,  and  for  this  distance  affords 
suferior  advantages  for  ship-navigation.  The  whole  extent  of  the  bay  and 
river,  from  Point  Judith  to  Providence,  is  about  thirty-six  miles.  The  average 
breadth  of  the  lower  section  of  the  bay  is  nearly  ten  miles  ;  but  the  upper  part 
is  narrow.  Exclusive  of  the  islands,  of  which  there  are  about  fifteen  in  nujii- 
bcr,  and  some  of  considerable  extent,  the  waters  of  the  bay  comprise  nn  area  of 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty  square  miles." — Gazetteer  of  Connecticut  and 
Rhode  Island.     1819.     pp.  302,  303,  349,  359. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


327 


Departing,  on  the  sixth  of  May,  from  Port  du 
Refuge,  the  Dauphine  sailed  on  a  southeasterly  course  to 
pass  the  islands  of  Martha's  Vineyard  and  Nantucket. 
Having  steered  fifty  leagues  in  this  direction,  Verraz- 
zano  found  the  coast  to  trend  toward  the  north,  which 
he  followed  until  he  acrain  cast  anchor  orf  the  coast  of 
Maine,  a  little  north  of  the  forty-third  parallel. 

The  wary  aborigines  of  this  part  of  the  New  Land 
would  not  venture  near  the  Dauphine,  nor  could  they  be 
induced  to  part  with  their  commodities  until  they  were 
remunerated  with  such  things  as  were  most  useful  to 
them.  The  landing  of  twenty-five  men  from  the  vessel 
provoked  an  attack,  and  yet  after  this  show  of  hostility 
the  Indians  fled  to  the  woods. 

Speaking  of  his  departure  from.  Narragansett  Bay, 
Verrazzano  writes  :  "  Having  supplied  ourselves  with 
every  thing  necessary,  on  the  sixth  of  May  [o/iil  s(}'/c]t 
we  departed  from  the  port,  and  sailed  one  hundred  and 
fifty  leagues,  keeping  close  enough  to  the  coast  not  to 
lose  it  from  our  sight.  The  character  of  the  country 
appeared  much  the  same  as  before,  but  the  mountains 
were  a  little  higher,  and  in  all  appearance  rich  in 
minerals. 

"  We  did  not  stop  to  land,  as  the  weather  was  very 
favorable  for  pursuing  our  voyage,  and  the  country 
presented  no  variety.  The  shore  stretched  to  the  east, 
and  fifty  leagues  beyond  more  to  the  north,  where  we 
found  a  more  elevated  country,  full  of  very  dense  woods 
of  pine,  cypress,  and  the  like,  indicative  of  a  cold 
climate. 

"  The  people  were  entirely  different  from  the  others 
we  had  seen,  whom  we  had  found  kind  and  gentle,  but 
these  were  so  rude  and  oarbarous  that  we  were  unable, 
by  any  signs  we  could  make,  to  hold  any  communica- 


|.W 


i  ; 


i  *.' 


I 


I,    ■ 


mmm 


32S 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


Pi 

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tion  with  them.  They  clothe  themselves  with  the  skins 
of  bears,  wolves,  ly  n: :,  marine,  and  other  animals.  Their 
food,  which  we  inferred  from  several  visits  to  their 
dwellings,  is  obtained  by  hunting  and  fishing.  They 
have  certain  vegetables  which  are  roots  of  spontaneous 
growth.  They  have  no  pulse,  and  we  saw  no  signs  of 
its  cultivation.  The  land  appears  sterile  and  unfit  for 
the  growth  of  fruits  or  grain  of  any  kind.  If  we  wished 
at  any  time  to  traffic  with  them,  they  came  to  the  sea- 
shore and  stood  upon  the  rocks,  from  which  they  low- 
ered down  by  a  cord  to  our  boats  beneath  whatever 
they  had  to  barter,  continually  crying  out  to  us  not  to 
come  nearer,  and  instantly  demanding  from  us  that 
which  was  to  be  given  in  exchange.  They  took  from 
us  only  knives,  fish-hook=  and  sharpened  steel.  No 
regard  was  paid  to  c  courtesies.  When  we  had 
nothing  left  to  exchange  with  them,  the  men  at  our 
departure  made  the  most  brutal  signs  of  disdain  and 
con -cnipt  possible.  Against  their  will,  we  penetrated 
two  or  thice  leagues  into  the  interior  with  twenty-five 
men.  When  we  came  to  the  shore,  they  shot  at  us 
with  their  arrows,  uttering  the  most  horrible  cries,  and 
afterward  fleeing  to  the  woods.  In  this  reofion  we 
found  nothing  extraordinary  except  vast  forests,  and 
some  metallii^rous  hills  as  we  inferred,  for  we  saw  that 
many  of  the  people  wore  copper  ear-rings." 

Following  the  trend  of  the  coast  of  Maine,  Verraz- 
zano  found  along  this  part  of  his  course  fcr  the  space 
of  fifty  leagues,  numerous  islands,  thirty-two  of  which, 
near  the  main  -land,  were  high  and  attractive.  Among 
them  he  saw  many  excellent  roadsteads  and  navigable 
channels. 

Describing  his  exploration  alo^,-  th^  co-^st  of  Maine, 
Verrazzano    reniarks :    "  Depa.;t';\g   irom     :his    place 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


329 


[perhaps  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Neddock],  we  kept 
along'  the  coast  steering  to  the  northeast,  and  found 
the  coi.intry  more  pleasant  and  open,  free  from  woods, 
and  far  in  the  interior  we  saw  lofty  mountains,  but 
none  which  extended  to  the  shore. 

"  Within  fifty  leagues  we  discovered  thirty-two 
small  and  attractive  islands,  all  near  the  mam-land. 
They  were  so  high  and  so  disposed  as  to  afford  as  fine 
harbors  and  channels  as  those  that  are  in  the  Adriatic 
Gulf,  near  Illyria  and  Dalmatia.  We  had  no  inter- 
course with  the  people,  but  v/e  judge  that  they  were 
similar  in  disposition  and  habits  to  those  we  were  last 
among. 

"  After  sailing  between  east  and  north  the  distance 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  more  leagues,  and  finding  our 
provisions  and  naval  stores  nearly  exhausted,  we  took 
in  wood  and  water,  and  determined  to  return  to  France, 
having  discovered  five  hundred  and  two,  that  is  to  say, 
seven  hundred  leagues  of  new  land  {ave?ido  discoperto 
leghe  502  cioe  leghe  yoo  piii  di  miova  terra)!' 

The  distance  of  seven  hundred  leagues  Yerrazzano 
reckoned  in  the  following  way,  as  explained  by  him  in 
his  geographical  exposition  of  the  voyage  :  "  In  addi- 
tion to  the  92  degrees  we  ran  toward  the  west  from 
our  point  of  departure  before  we  reached  land  on  the 
thirty-fourth  parallel,  we  have  to  count  300  [French] 
leagues,  which  we  ran  northeastwardly  and  400  nearly 
east  along  the  coast  before  we  reached  the  fiftieth  par- 
allel of  north  latitude."  Measured  directly  north  from 
the  thirty-fourth  parallel  to  the  fiftieth,  the  space  in- 
cludes sixteen  degrees,  which  multiplied  by  2>^y\ 
French  leagues,  which  at  that  time  equaled  a  degree 
of  latitude,  the  product  of  5oo  French  leagues  is 
obtained.'     Two  leagues  added  to  these,  for  the  dis- 

"See  note,  page  293. 


\    , 


■,    .■    . 


.  •}  \ 


!!' 


I 


330 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


tance  sailed  directly  south  of  the  thirty-fourth  parallel, 
make  5o2  French  leagues,  or  about  eleven  hundred 
and  four  land-miles,  the  geographical  extent  of  the 
coast  explored  by  Verrazzano.'  The  New  Land 
[Nuova  Terra),  discovered  by  Verrazzano,  was  as  early 
as  the  year  1627  delineated  on  a  map  of  the  v'orld 
and  denominated  Francesca.  This  Italian  name  it  bore 
for  a  number  of  years  until  the  French  geographical 
designation  La  Nouvelle  France  (New  France)  was 
substituted  for  it.' 

Concluding  his  description  of  the  new  country,  Ver- 
razzano remarks :  "  As  to  the  religious  faith  of  all  these 
tribf;.5,  no*  anderstr.iding  their  language,  we  could  not 
learn  either  by  signs  or  gestures  any  thing  certain.  It 
seemed  to  us  that  they  had  no  religion  or  laws,  nor  any 
knowledge  of  a  First  Cause  or  Mover, — that  they  wor- 
shipped neither  the  heavens,  stars,  sun,  moon,  nor  the 
other  planets.  V^'^e  could  not  learn  if  they  were  given 
to  any  kind  of  idolatry,  or  offered  any  sacrifices  or 
supplications,  or  if  they  have  temples  or  houses  of 

'  The  distance  given  by  the  Spanish  historian,  Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomara, 
in  1552,  from  the  PoinU)f  Baccalaos,  in  48"  30'  to  Cape  St.  Helen,  in  32°  north 
latitude,  is  more  than  seven  hundred  and  sixty  Spanish  leagues,  measured  as 
the  coast  trended  ;  "  From  the  Point  of  BaccuUaos  are  set  down  eight  hundred 
and  seventy  leagues  t  Florida,  counting  as  follows  :  From  the  Point  of  Baccal- 
laos  which  is  in  48°  30  ire  seventy  leagues  of  coast  to  La  B'aya  del  Rio,  v.'hich 
is  in  more  than  45°.  Tnenc:e  are  seventy  to  another  bay  called  Isleos  which  is 
in  less  than  44".  From  Baya  Isleos  to  Rio  Fonda  are  seventy  leagues,  and 
thenc«  to  Rio  de  lit*  Gamas,  are  other  seventy,  both  rivers  being  ia  43°.  From 
Rio  de  los  Gamas  are  fifty  leagues  to  Cabo  Bajo,  and  thence  to  Rio  de  San  An- 
ton, they  reckon  more  laan  a  hundred  leagues.  From  Rio  de  San  Anton  are 
eigaiy  leagues  along  the  shore  of  a  gulf  to  Cabo  de  Arenas,  which  is  in  nearly 
39°,  thence  to  Puerto  del  Principe  are  more  than  a  hundrea  leagues,  and  from 
it  to  Rio  Jordan  seventy,  and  thcnc-  *o  Cabo  de  Santa  Elena,  which  is  in  32°, 
there  ar«  forty  leagues.  From  Santa  Elena  to  Rio  Seco,  which  is  in  31°,  are 
forty  leagues." — La  ^''''.ia  general  de  las  Indias.     Gomara.     cap.  xii. 

•  The  name  Francesca  is  used  on  the  Maiollo  map  of  1527.  Hieronymus 
da  Vcrazzano  called  the  region  "  VitrrazaKa  scu  Gallia  nova" — ^Verrazana  or 
New  Gaul.  By  some  French  writers  it  was  denominated  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, "  Terrt  Francesque." 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


331 


prayer  in  their  villages.  Our  conclusion  was  that  they 
had  no  religion,  but  lived  withe  .t  any.  This  seems  to 
be  the  result  of  ignorance,  for  they  are  very  easily  per- 
suaded, and  imitated  us  with  e:  .rnestness  and  fervor  in 
all  that  they  saw  us  do  as  Christians  in  our  acts  of  de- 
votion." 

Verrazzano  added  to  this  general  description  of  his 
remarkable  discoveries,-  an  elaborate  cosmographical 
explanation  of  the  situation  of  the  New  Land.  His 
geometrical  elucidation  of  the  distances  sailed  by  the 
Dauphine,  shows  how  desirous  he  was  to  make  plain 
the  geography  of  the  vast  continent,  which  he  and 
others  had  partly  explored.     He  says  : 

"  It  remains  for  me  to  place  before  your  serene 
majesty  a  cosmographical  description  of  the  voyage. 
As  I  have  already  said,  we  departed  from  the  desert- 
rocks,  lying  in  the  extreme  part  of  the  West  known  to 
the  ancients,  and  in  the  described  meridian  near  the 
Fortunate  Islands,  on  the  thirty-second  parallel  from 
the  equator  of  our  hemisphere,  and  sailed  from  it  west- 
wardly  to  where  we  found  the  first  land,  1,200  leagues 
or  4,800  miles,  reckoning  according  to  nautical  custom 


* 


*     * 


During 


four  miles  to  a  [marine]  league.' 

'"This  distance,"  he  remarks,  "calculated  geometrically  upon  the  ratio 
that  three  and  one  seventh  times  the  diameter  of  a  circle  is  equal  to  its  circum- 
ference, gives  92j»V?"3ff  degrees.  For  if  we  take  ri4xx  degrees  as  the  chord  of 
an  arc  of  a  great  circle,  vre  have  by  the  same  ratio  95495!  degrees  as  the  chord 
of  an  arc  on  the  parallel  of  34°,  being  that  on  which  we  first  made  land,  and 
30(>jYtV  degrees  as  the  circumference  of  the  whole  circle,  passing  through  this 
plans.  Allowing  then,  as  actua'  observations  show,  that  62^  terres'rial  miles 
correspond  to  a  celestial  degree,  we  find  the  whole  circumference  of  3oo///j 
degrees,  as  just  given,  to  be  18,759/^^  miles,  which,  divided  by  360,  makes  the 
length  of  a  degree  of  longitude  on  the  parallel  of  34°  to  be  52^5^*8  miles,  and 
that  is  the  true  measure.  Therefore,  by  a  right  line  to  tht;  said  rock  which 
stands  in  32°,  we  have  to  calculate  the  distance,  the  said  1,200  leagues  which 
we  have  found,  from  the  thirty-fourth  parallel,  from  west  to  east,  hence  I 
should  have  run  92^^^'^!^  degrees,  and  this  many  therefore  we  have  sailed  to 
the  West,  which  was  not  known  to  the  ancients." 

"4A  X  3>  -  i6o.  yx^,%  X  7  "^  2»  -  gsiKB-  3ooAMr  >•  «»!  -  «8,739flAf  •«,7S9* 
^-  560  -  s-b^oVj-    4.S0O  ^V  52boVj  "  <J2iV?V3'ii- 


HP  I 


It 

i' 

li 


332 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


r 


our  voyage  we  had  no  lunar  eclipses  or  similar  celestial 
phenomena.  We  therefore  determined  our  progress 
from  the  difference  of  longitude,  which  we  ascertained 
by  various  instruments,  taking  the  sun's  altitude  from 
day  to  day,  and  by  calculating  geometrically  the  dis- 
tance run  by  the  ship  from  one  horizon  to  another. 
All  these  observations,  as  also  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the 
tide  in  all  places,  were  noted  down  in  a  little  book, 
which  may  prove  serviceable  to  navigators.  They 
are  communicated  to  your  majesty  with  the  hope  of 
promoting  science. 

"  My  intention  in  this  voyage  was  to  reach  Cathay, 
on  the  extreme  coast  of  Asia,  expecting,  however,  to 
find  in  the  newly  discovered  land  some  obstacle  as  I 
found,  yet  I  did  not  doubt  that  I  should  sail  by  some 
passage  to  the  eastern  ocean.  It  was  the  opinion  of 
the  ancients  that  our  eastern  ocean  of  India  was  an  ex- 
panse of  water  without  any  intervening  land.  Aristotle 
supj)orts  it  by  arguments  founded  on  various  proba- 
bilities, but  it  is  contrary  to  later  belief  and  false  by 
observation.  The  discovered  country,  of  which  the 
ancients  knew  nothing,  is  another  world  compared  with 
that  which  was  before  known,  being  evidently  larger 
than  our  Europe  together  with  Africa,  and,  perhaps, 
Asia,  if  one  righdy  estimate  its  extent,  as  shall  now 
be    explained   briefly   to    your   mnjesty."'     He  then 


'"  The  Spaniards  have  sailed  south  'icyond  the  equator,  on  a  meridian 
2oJ|2gJ  degrees  west  of  '.he  Fortunate  Islands  to  the  latitude  of  54°  and  there 
still  found  land.  Turning  about  they  steered  northward  on  the  same  meridian 
and  along  the  coast  to  the  eighth  parallel,  and  then  along  the  coast  more  to  the 
west,  and  north  to  the  latitude  of  21°  [31°  ?J,  svithout  finding  a  termination  to  the 
continent.  They  estimated  the  distance  run  as  Sgl'^Jf  ^'hich  added  to  the 
2o|?s3i  fi''st  run  make  iio|J|gf,  but  this  may  vary  sonewhat  from  the  truth. 
We  did  not  make  this  voyage,  and  therefore  cannot  speak  from  experience. 
We  calculated  it  geometrically  from  the  obst lArations  furnished  by  many  naviga- 
tors, who  have  made  the  voyage  and  affirm  the  distance  to  be  1600  leagues,  due 
allowance  being  made  for  the  deviations  of  the  ship  from  a  straight  course  by 
reason  of  contrary  winds.     I  hope  that  we  shall  now  obtain  accurate  informa- 


i    i 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


333 


Speaks  of  the  Spaniards  sailing  as  far  south  as  the  Strait 
of  Magellan  and  as  far  north  as  the  twenty-first  parallel 
without  finding  a  termination  to  the  continent.  *  *  * 
"  But  to  return  to  ourselves  : — in  the  voyage  which 
we  have  made  by  the  order  of  your  majesty,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  ninety- two  degrees  we  ran  toward  the  west 
from  the  point  of  our  departure  before  we  reached  land 
on  the  thirty-fourth  parallel,  we  have  to  count  300 
leagues  which  we  sailed  northeastwardly,  and  4Cxd 
nearly  east  along  the  coast  before  we  reached  the 
fiftieth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  the  point  where  we 
turned  our  course  from  the  shore  toward  home.  Be- 
yond this  point  the  Portuguese  had  sailed  as  far  north 
as  the  arctic  circle  without  coming  to  the  end  of  the 
continent.  Adding  the  degrees  of  south  latitude  ex- 
plored, which  are  fifty-four,  to  those  of  the  north, 
which  are  sixty-six,  the  sum  is  one  hundred  and  twenty 
degrees,  and  therefore  more  than  are  included  in  the 
latitude  of  Africa  and  Europe,  for  the  north  point  of 
Norway,  the  extremity  of  Europe,  is  in  71°  north 
latitude,  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  southern 
extremity  of  Africa,  is  in  35°  south  latitude,  and  their 
sum  is  only  one  hundred  and  six  degrees.  If  the 
breadth  of  this  newly  discovered  country  correspond  to 
the  extent  of  its  sea-coast,  it  doubtless  exceeds  Asia  in 
size.  In  this  way  we  find  that  the  land  forms  a  much 
larger  part  of  our  globe  than  the  ancients  supposed, 
who  maintained,  contrary  to  mathematical  reasoning, 
that  it  was  less  than  the  water,  whereas  actual  experi- 
ence proves  the  reverse,  so  that  judging  in  respect  to 
extent  of  surface,  the  land  covers  apparently  as  much 
.  space  as  the  water.' 

tioii  on  these  points,  by  new  voyages  to  be  made  on  the  same  coasts." — Vide 
Maiollo  map  of  1527. 

*  Verrazzanc's  argument  is  based  upon  the  supposition  that  the  extent  of  the 


-  ■'■            ji 

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334 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


"  I  hope  to  point  out  and  explain  more  clearly  and 
satisfactorily  the  great  extent  of  the  New  Land  or  New 
World,  of  which  I  have  been  speaking.  Asia  and 
Africa,  we  know,  arc  joined  together  and  are  connected 
with  Norway  and  Russia  with  Europe,  which  disproves 
the  idea  of  the  ancients  that  all  this  northern  part  had 
been  navigated  from  the  promontory  of  Cimbri  [Den- 
mark] eastward  as  far  as  the  Caspian  Sea.  They  also 
maintained  that  the  whole  continent  was  surrounded 
by  two  oceans,  lying  east  and  west  of  it,  which  seas  in 
fact  do  not  surround  either  of  the  two  continents,  for  as 
we  have  already  seen  the  land  in  the  western  hemi- 
sphere at  54°  south  latitude  extends  eastwardly  an  un- 
known distance,  and  that  the  land  north  of  the  equator, 
beyond  the  sixty-sixth  parallel,  turns  to  the  east  and 
does  not  terminate  at  the  seventieth  parallel.' 

"  In  a  short  time,  I  hope  we  shall  have  more  satis- 
factory information  concerning  these  things  by  the  aid 
of  your  :  (;rene  majesty,  whom  I  pray  Almighty  God  to 
prosper  in  lasting  glory,  that  we  may  see  the  most 
important  results  of  this  our  geography  in  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  holy  words  of  the  gospel. 

"  On  board  the  ship  Dauphine-  in  the  port  of  Dieppe, 
in  Normandy,  the  8th  day  of  July,  1624. 

"  Your  humble  servant, 

"  Janus  Verazzanus." 

land  of  the  new  continent  was  greater  than  it  really  was,  for  at  this  time  the 
Pacific  coast  of  the  New  Land  had  not  been  explortd.  Verrazzano  believed 
that  the  New  World  extended  much  farther  westward  than  it  does. 

'  Tierra  del  Fuego,  south  of  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  had  not  yet  been  ex- 
plored, and  it  was  not  known  how  far  it  extended,  or  in  what  direction. 


CHAPTER  X. 

{Addeftdc  .) 
1 524-1 526. 

The  safe  return  of  Verrazzano  to  France  and  his 
remarkable  discoveries  along  the  new  contincir  were 
immediately  heralded  through  Europe.  The  letter 
which  he  wrote  on  his  arrival  at  Dieppe  was  at  once 
eagerly  copied  and  the  transcripts  widely  circulated. 
In  less  than  a  month's  time  the  news  of  the  navigator's 
extensive  explorations  was  spread  over  France,  and 
became  a  prominent  topic  of  conversation.  The  com- 
mercial advantages  likely  to  accrue  to  France  by  the 
important  discovery  of  a  country  t. sickly  populated  and 
rich  in  drugs,  furs,  and  metals  were  everywh'.Te  dis- 
cussed, and  Verrazzano's  presence  at  the  chief  centres 
of  trade  was  much  desired  that  more  information 
might  be  obtain^  d  respecting  the  people  and  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  New  Land. 

A  Florentine,  named  Fernando  Carli,  a  person 
well  acquainted  with  Verrazzano's  former  voyages,  was 
in  Lvons  at  the  time  when  the  surprising  intelligence 
reached  that  city.  He  obtained  a  copy  of  Verrazzano's 
letter,  and  sent  it  to  his  father  in  Flor:  nee,  inclosed 
in  the  following  communication  : 

•'  In  the  name  of  God. 

"  August  4,  1524. 
"  Honored  Father  : — 

"  Considering  that  when  I    was  in   the    army   in 

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336 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


Il 


Barbary,  at  Gierbe,  the  news  was  sent  you  every  day 
by  the  illustrious  gentleman,  Don  Hugo  de  Moncada, 
captain-general  of  his  Cesarean  majesty  in  those  bar- 
barous parts,  what  followed  contending  with  the  Moors 
of  that  island,  which  seemed  to  have  pleased  our 
patrons  and  friends  ;  and  also  the  congratulatory  news 
of  the  subsequent  victory ;  [I  now  send  you]  the 
news  [wliich]  has  recently  reached  this  place,  of  the 
arrival  of  Captain  Giovanni  da  Verrazzano,  our  Floren- 
tine, at  the  port  of  Dieppe,  in  Normandy,  with  his 
ship,  the  Dauphlne,  with  which  he  sailed  from  the 
Canary  Islands,  the  last  of  January,  to  go  in  search  of 
new  lands  for  this  most  serene  crown  of  France,  in 
which  enterprise  he  displayed  very  noble  and  great 
courage  in  undertaking  such  an  unknown  voyage  with 
only  one  ship,  a  caravel  of  hardly  tons  burden,'  with 
only  fifty  men,  with  the  intention,  if  possible,  to 
discover  Cathay,  steering  a  course  through  climates 
other  than  those  frequented  by  the  Portuguese  in  going 
to  it  by  the  way  of  Calicut,  by  keeping  more  to  tiie 
northwest  and  north,  believing  that,  although  Ptolemy, 
Aristode,  and  other  cosmographers  assert  that  no  land 
is  to  be  found  toward  such  climates,  he  would  never- 
theless find  land  there,  which  God  has  permitted  him, 
as  he  distinctly  describes  in  his  letter  to  his  serene 
majesty,  a  copy  of  which  is  inclosed  in  this  communi- 
cation. After  spending  many  months  in  exploring,  he 
asserts  that  he  was  compelled  to  return  for  want  of  pro- 
visions from  that  hemisphere  into  this  one,  having  been 
seven  months  on  the  voyage,  showing  a  very  great 
and  rapid  passage,  having  accomplished  a  wonderful 
and  most  extraordinary  undertaking  in  the  opinion  of 
those  who  understand  the  navigation  of  the  globe. 

'  The  number  of  tpns  is  not  mentioned. 


s, 

-•-^.x 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


337 


"  At  the  beginning  of  the  voyage  there  was  an  un- 
favorable opinion  formed  concerning  it,  many  thinking 
that  there  would  be  no  more  news  respecting  him  and 
his  vessel,  and  that  he  would  be  lost  on  that  side  of 
Norway,  in  consequence  of  the  great  ice  which  is  in 
the  northern  ocean.'  However,  the  great  God,  as  the 
Moor  said,  in  order  to  give  us  every  day  proofs  of  his 
infinite  power,  and  to  show  how  admirable  is  this 
mundane  sphere,  has  disclosed  to  him  a  breadth  of 
land,  as  you  will  perceive,  of  great  extent,  as  shown 
by  good  reasoning  and  by  degrees  of  latitude  and 
longitude. 

"  He  declares  and  shows  it  to  be  p-reater  than 
Europe,  A-frica,  and  a  part  of  Asia ;  therefore  a  new 
world  {ergo  tmindus  novus)',  and  this  exclusive  of  wliat 
the  Spaniards  have  discovered  in  several  years  in  the 
West ;  as  it  is  hardly  a  year  since  Fernando  Magellan 
returned,  who  discovered  a  great  country  with  one 
ship  out  of  the  five  sent  on  the  discovery,  from  which 
he  brought  spices  much  ntore  excellent  than  the  com- 
mon kind,  and  of  his  other  ships  no  news  has  tran- 
spired for  five  years.     They  are  supposed  to  be  lost.' 

"  What  this  our  captain  has  brought  he  does  not 
state  in  his  letter,  except  a  very  young  boy  taken  from 
those  countries  ;  but  it  is  supposed  he  has  brought  a 
sample  of  gold,  which  they  do  not  value  in  those  parts, 
and  of  drugs  and  other  aromatic  liquors,  in  order  to 
confer  here  with  several  merchants  after  he  shall  have 

'  According  to  Carli's  statement,  Verrazzano  at  first  attempted  to  sail  to 
the  west  by  going  through  the  North  Sea,  Here,  iis  Verrazzano  relates,  his 
vessels  were  disabled,  and  he  proceeded  southward  toward  the  desert-rock, 
whence  he  steered  toward  the  west  in  quest  of  new  lands, 

'  Carli  evidently  was  not  well  informed  concerning  Magellan's  expedition, 
for  although  he  speaks  of  the  five  ships  of  the  fleet,  and  of  the  return  of  the 
one  commanded  by  Del  Cano,  he  appears  to  be  ignorant  of  the  death  of 
Magellan,  and  of  the  arrival  of  Estevan  Gomez,  in  1521,  with  the  ship  San 
Antonio. 


1' 


338 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


been  in  the  presence  of  his  most  serene  majestj'. 
And  at  this  hour  he  should  be  vith  the  king,  and  from 
choice  should  come  here  soon,  as  he  is  much  desired, 
in  order  to  be  conversed  with  ;  moreover,  here  he  will 
find  his  majesty,  the  king,  our  sire,  who  is  expected  in 
three  or  four  days.'  And  we  hope  that  his  serene 
majesty  will  intrust  him  with  a  half  dozen  good  vessels, 
and  that  he  will  go  on  the  voyage.  If  our  Francisco 
Carli  be  returned  from  Cairo,  advise  him  to  go  at  a 
venture  on  this  voyage  with  him,  for  I  believe  they 
were  acquainted  at  Cairo,  where  he  [Verrazzano]  was 
for  several  years,  and  not  only  in  Egypt  and  Syria, 
but  almost  in  all  parts  of  the  known  world.  On  ac- 
count of  his  merits,  he  is  regarded  as  another  Amerieo 
Vespucci,  another  Magellan,  and  even  more  than  they. 
We  hope  that,  being  provided  with  other  good  ships 
and  vessels,  well-built  and  properly  provisioned,  he 
will  discover  and  develop  a  profitable  traffic,  and  will, 
our  Lord  God  preserving  his  life,  do  honor  to  our 
country  in  acquiring  immortal  fame  and  memory. 
Alderotto  Brunelleschi,  who  started  with  him,  and  by 
chance  turned  back  unwilling  to  accompany  him 
farther,  will,  when  he  hears  this  news,  be  discon- 
tented. 

"  Nothing  else  now  dccurs  to  me,  as  I  have  ad- 
vised you  by  others  what  is  necessary.  I  commend 
myself  constantly  to  you,  prayin^^-  you  to  impart  this 
to  our  friends,  not  forgetting  Pier  Francisco  Daga- 
ghiano,  who,  in  consequence  of  being  an  experienced 
person,  will  take  miich  pleasure  in  it,  and  commend  me 
to  him.      Likewise  to  Rustichi,  who  will  not  be  dis- 

'  King  Francis  wrote  to  his  parliament,  en  the  second  of  July,  ij24,  say- 
ing: "  I  am  going  to  Lyons  to  prevfnt  the  enemy  from  entering  the  kingdom, 
and  I  can  assure  you  that  Charles  de  IJourhon  is  not  yet  in  France." — Historic 
de  Franjois  Premier.    Gaillard.     Paris,  1769.     torn.  iii.     p.  172. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


339 


pleased,  if  he  delight,  as  usual,  in  learning  matters  of 
cosmography.     God  guard  you  from  all  ev'l. 

"  Your  son, 

•'  Fernando  Carli, 
.  "In  Lyons."* 

The  notable  success  attending  Verrazzano's  voyage 
in  1 524,  it  seems,  induced  the  celebrated  navigator  to 
undertake  another  in  i526.  For  the  furtherance  of 
this  project,  he  and  five  other  persons  entered  into  an 
agreement  in  which  it  was  stipulated  that  Philippe 
Chabot,  baron  of  Apremont,  knight  of  the  Order  of 
the  King,  governor  and  lieutenant-general  of  Bur- 
gundy, admiral  of  France  and  of  Brittany,"  was  to  fur- 
nish him  with  two  galleons  then  at  Havre  de  Grace, 
and  a  ship  belonging  to  Jean  Ango  of  Dieppe,^  of  sev- 
enty tons  burden,  and  that  the  admiral  was  also  to  equip 
and  victual  them  for  the  voyage  to  the  New  Land. 
The  three  vessels  were  to  be  ready  to  sail  within  two 
months.*  Before  setting  sail  on  this  voyage,  'Verraz- 
zano,  on  Friday,  the  eleventh  of  May,  i526,  gave  to 
his  brother,  Hieronymus,  and  Zanobus  de  Rousselay,* 

'  Lettera  di  Feniando  Ca'li  a  suo  padre.  Archivo  storico  Italian?  ossia 
raccolta  di  opere  e  documenli  fiuora  inediti  o  divenuti  nrissimi  risgiiardanti 
la  storia  d'  Italia,  Appendice.  tomo  ix.  Firenze.  Gio.  Pieiro  Vicusseiix, 
direttore-editore  al  suo  gabinetto  scientifioo  letterario.     1853. 

*  Pliilippe  Chabot,  Sieur  de  Brion,  admiral  of  France,  was  given  command 
of  the  French  marine,  March  23,  1526.  '       , 

*  Ango  &  Son  was  a  noted  firm  of  ship-builders  'n  Dieppe. 

*  Twenty  thousand  pounds,  Tours  currency,  were  to  be  advanced  to  meet 
the  exp'inses  of  the  undertaking.  The  -dmiral  of  France  contributed  four 
thousand  pounds,  Guillaume  Preudhomn  ^ ,  general  of  Normandy,  two  thou- 
sand ;  Pierre  Despinolles,  one  thousand  ;  Jean  Ango,  t-,vo  thousand  ;  Jacques 
Boursier,  two  thoi -.and  ;  and  Vcrrazzano  (Jehan  de  Varesam,  as  his  nnme  is 
written  in  the  agreement),  chief  pilot,  two  thousand  pounds.  Verrazzano,  iiav- 
ing  agreed  to  provide  competent  pilots  for  the  other  two  vessels,  was  to  receive 
one  sixth  of  all  the  goods  which  should  be  brought  back,  and  one  tenth  of  any 
booty  taken  at  sea  from  the  Moors,  or  other  eiemies  of  France.  Foutette  col- 
lection.    XXX.     770.     fol.  60.     Bibliothique  nationale.     Paris. 

*  Zanobus  de  Rousselay,  a  merchant  of  Rouen,  in  a  legal  instrument,  dated 


r 


340 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


i   ! 


Vi  I 


a  power  of  attorney  by  which  they  were  empowered  to 
act  for  him  in  any  matter  pertaining  to  his  interest ; 
and  also,  on  the  following  day,  a  similar  instrument  to 
Adam  Godeft'roy  of  Rouen,  which  authorized  him  to 
transact  certain  business  for  the  navigator.'  In  each 
of  these  legal  instruments,  Verrazzano  is  named  "  Jehan 
de  Varasenne,  nobleman,  captain  of  the  ships  equipped 
to  go  on  the  voyage  to  the  Indies." 

The  French  sea-captain,  Jean  Ribaut,  in  his  report 
to  Admiral  Gaspard  de  Coligni,  of  his  first  voyage  to 
Florida,  in  i562,  says  that  Verrazzano,  after  his  return 
to  France,  in  1524,  "  neuer  ceassed  to  make  suite  vutil 
he  was  sent  thither  againe,  where  at  last  he  died."  " 

The  voyage  of  i526  xvas  the  third  made  by  Ver- 
razzano to  America :  the  first  in  i5o8,  with  Thomas 
Aubert ;  the  second,  in  1624,  in  the  Dauphine.  This 
'fact  is  corroborated  by  the  well-informed  English  col- 
lector, Hakluyt,  who  says  that  he  "  had  been  thrise  on 
that  coast."  ^ 

Of  Verrazzano's  death,  Ramusio gives  this  account : 
"  In  the  last  voyage  which  he  made,  having  gone  on 
land  with  some  of  his  men,  he  and  they  were  all  put 
to  death  by  the  inhabiiiants,  and  in  the  presence  of 
those  who  were  on  board  the  ship  were  roasted  and 
devoured.  Such  was  the  terrible  death  of  this  valiant 
gentleman,  who,  had  not  this  misfortune  happened 
him,  would,  by  the  great  knowledge  and  experience 
wh::h  he   had  of  maritime  affairs  and  of  navigation, 

September  30,  1526,  gave  bonds  that  "  Messire  Jehan  de  Verrassane  "  was  en- 
tilled  "  to  defend  a  certain  clametir  de  haro,  obtained  against  him  by  Guillaume 
Eynoult,  called  Cornete,  living  in  Dieppe."  The  bonds  were  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Fremyn  Poree  and  Robert  Tassel,  sergeant  royal,  at  Rouen,  until  the 
matter  could  be  legally  settled.     MS.  in  archives  of  Rouen. 

*  Foutette  collection.  xxx.  770.  fol.  60.  Biblioth^que  nationale. 
Paris. 

*  Hakluyt's  Divers  voyages,  1582. 

*  ''  Epistle  dedicalorie  "  to  Divers  voyages. 


i 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


341 


attended  and  favored  by  the  large  liberality  of  King 
Francis,  have  discovered  and  made  known  to  the 
world,  all  that  part  of  the  earth  up  to  the  north  pole, 
and  v;ould  not  have  been  contented  with  only  the  ex- 
ploration of  the  coast,  but  would  have  attempted  to 
penetrate  far  inland,  and  as  far  as  he  could  go. 

"  Many  who  had  known  and  conversed  with  him, 
have  told  me  that  he  had  declared  that  it  was  his 
intention  to  persuade  the  most  Christian  king  to  send 
from  these  parts  a  goodly  number  of  people  to  settle 
in  some  places  of  the  new  country  which  are  of  a  tem- 
perate climate  and  very  fertile  soil,  with  very  beautiful 
rivers  and  harbors  capable  of  holding  any  fleet. 

"  Settlers  in  these  places  would  be  the  means  of 
effecting  many  good  results,  and  among  others  that  of 
brincjinsf  those  barbarous  and  ignorant  tribes  to  know 
God  and  our  most  holy  religion,  showing  them  how  to 
cultivate  the  land,  transporting  some  of  the  animals  of 
Europe  to  those  vast  plains  ;  and  finally,  in  time,  dis- 
covering the  inland  parts,  and  seeing  whether  or  not 
among  the  many  islands  in  that  part  of  the  world  any 
passage  to  the  South  Sea  exists,  or  that  the  West 
Indies  extend  as  far  north  as  the  pole. 

"This  and  so  much  has  been  related  respecting  the 
achievements  and  efforts  of  this  brave  gentleman,  and 
in  order  that  his  memory  may  not  be  buried  and  his 
name  pass  into  obMvion,  we  have  desired  to  give  to 
the  light  the  little  information  that  has  come  into  our 
hands." ' 

Hakluyt,  speaking  of  the  map  which  Ver»"azzano 
had  made  and  presented  to  King  Henry  VIII.  of 
England,  which  as  late  as  the  year  i584  was  still  pre- 
served by  an  English  cartographer,  says  :  "  There  is  a 

'  Raccolta  di  navigatiorii  e  viaggi.  Ramusio.  Discorso  sopra  la  nuova 
Francia.     vol.  iii.    fol.  438. 


1 


\ 


\1\ 


:.  'jf 


342 


DISCOVERIES   OF   AMERICA. 


mighty  large  olde  mappe  in  parchemente,  made  as  yt 
shoulde  seeme,  by  Verarsanus,  traced  all  alongc  the 
coaste,  from  Florida  to  Cape  Briton,  with  many  Italian 
names,  which  laieth  cute  the  sea,  makinge  a  little  necke 
of  land  in  40  degrees  of  latitude  much  like  the  streyte 
necke  or  istmus  of  Dariena."  The  English  collector 
also  refers  to  a  globe  which  he  believed  Verrazzano 
made :  "  There  is  an  old  excellent  globe  in  the  Queens 
privie  gallery  at  Westminster,  which  also  semeth  to  be 
ofVerarsanus  makinge.  having  the  coaste  in  Italian, 
which  laieth  oute  the  very  same  straite  necke  of  lande 
in  the  latitude  of  40  degrees,  with  the  sea  joyninge 
harde  on  bothe  sides,  as  it  dothe  on  Panama  and 
Nombre  di  Dios  ;  which  were  a  matter  of  sing^ular 
importance,  yf  it  shoulde  be  true,  as  it  is  not  unlikely." " 

Although  the  "  mighty  large  olde  mappe  in  parche- 
mente "  of  Verrazzano's  drafting  is  lost,  there  are  sev- 
eral maps  extant  which  seemingly  represent  the  terri- 
tory of  North  America  as  it  was  delineated  by  him." 
The  rarest  and  the  most  valuable  of  these  is  a  vellum- 
map  of  the  world  in  the  Ambrosian  Library  at  Milan, 
made  in  i527.  It  is  five  feet  seven  inches  long  and 
one  foot  eleven  inches  wide,  and  bears  this  inscription  : 
**  Vesconte  de  Maiollo  conposuy  hanc  cartan  M  yanua 
anno  dny,  1527,  die  xx.  decenbris."  (Visconte  de 
Maiollo  composed  this  chart,  in  Genoa,  in  the  year 
of  the  Lord,  i527,  the  twentieth  day  of  December). 
The  narrow  isthmus,  near  the  fortieth  parallel,  and 
the  "  number  of  Italian  names  "  from  "  Tera  Florida  " 
to  "  C.  de  Bertoni "  on  this  map,  fully  agree  with 
Hakluyt's  description  of  Verrazzano's  chart.' 

Hieronymus,  the  brother  of  the  navigator,  it  seems, 

•  Hakluyt's  Particular  discourse,  1584, 

*  In  the  cover-pocket  is  a  co])y  of  the  part  of  the  M^'oUo  map  representing 
the  continent  in  the  western  hemisphere. 


.:•    ^ 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


343 


also  made  a  map  of  the  New  Land,  which,  it  is  conjec- 
tured, he  drafted  in  i529.'  The  original  is  a  plani- 
sphere delineated  on  parchment,  fifty-one  by  one  hun- 
dred and  two  inches.  This  map  is  in  the  Borgian 
museum  in  Rome.  The  inscription  :  "  Hieroiiimtis  de 
Verrazafius faciebaf  (Hieronimus  de  Verrazano  made 
it),  permits  the  inference  that  the  map  was  not  the  one 
which  Hakluyt  described,  for  had  Hieronymus  da 
Verrazzano's  name  been  inscribed  on  it,  the  Eno-lish 
collector,  it  seems,  would  have  mentioned  the  fact. 
The  representation  of  the  so-called  Western  Sea,  or 
"  Mare  Indicum  "  (the  Chesapeake  Bay),  with  the  ex- 
planatory inscription  on  Hieronymus  da  Verazzano's 
map,  indicates  that  he  had  srme  knowledge  of  the 
cartographic  features  of  his  brother's  chart,  and  of  the 
geographical  memoranda  recorded  in  the  Tttle  book 
which  the  latter  speaks  of  in  his  letter  to  Kine  Francis 
I.,  and  which  he  thought  would  be  serviceable  to  other 
navigators.' 

'  The  inscription  on  the  chart  contains  this  information  :  "  Verrazana  seu 
Gallia  ttovu  quale  discopri  5  anni  fa  Giovanni  di  Verrazzano  fiorentino  per 
ordine  et  comandamelo  del  Chrystiannissimo  Re  di  Francia  "  (Verrazana  or  New 
Gaul,  which  Giovanni  di  Verrazano,  a  Florentine,  discovered  five  years  ago,  by 
the  order  and  commandment  of  the  most  Christian  king  of  France). 

'  The  value  of  the  map  made  by  Hieronymus  da  Verrazzano  is  fully  dis- 
cussed in  Notes  on  Giovanni  da  Verrazano,  and  on  a  planisphere  of  1529  illus- 
trating his  American  voyage  in  1524,  with  a  reduced  copy  of  the  map,  by 
James  Carson  Brevoort.     New  York,  1874. 

Vide  Voyage  of  Verrazzano  :  A  chapter  in  the  early  history  of  maritime 
discovery  in  America.     By  Henry  C.  Murphy.     New  York,  1873, 

Fide  Verrazano,  the  Explorer :  being  a  vindication  of  his  letter  and  voyage, 
with  an  examination  of  the  map  of  Hieronimo  da  Verrazano  and  a  dissertation 
.upon  the  globe  of  Vlpius.     By  B.  F,  De  Costa.     New  York,  1880. 


d  t 


■t 


u 


CHAPTER  XI. 

(Addenda.) 
1 526- 1 6 14. 

After  the  death  of  Verrazzano,  the  French,  for  a 
time,  made  no  attempt  to  search  along  the  coast  of  the 
new  continent  for  a  short  and  direct  way  to  Cathay. 
The  losses  sustained  by  the  projectors  of  the  expedi- 
tion of  1626,  Ribaut  says,  gave  "small  courage  to 
sende  thither  agayne,  and  was  the  cause  that  this  laud- 
able enterprise  was  left  of,  vntill  the  yeere  1534,  at 
which  time  his  Maiestie  [Francis  I.]  (desiring  alwayes 
to  enlarge  his  kingdome,  countreys,  and  dominions, 
and  the  aduauncing  the  ease  of  his  subiectes),  sent 
thither  a  Pilote  of  S.  Mallowes,  a  Briton,  named  James 
Cartier,  well  scene  in  the  art  and  knowledge  of  Nauiga- 
tion,  and  especially  of  the  North  parts,  commonly  called 
the  new  land,  led  by  some  hope  to  find  passage  that 
waies  to  the  south  seas."  ' 

The  two  ships  commanded  by  Cartier  sailed  from 
the  port  of  St.  Malo,  on  the  twentieth  of  April,  1534. 

*  The  true  and  last  discouerie  of  Florida  made  by  Captain  John  Ribault  in 
the  yeere  1562.  Dedicated  to  a  great  noble  man  of  Fraunce,  and  translated 
into  Englishe  by  one  Thomas  Hackit.     Hakluyt's  Divers  voyages.     1582. 

The  whole  and  true  dlscoverye  of  Terra  Florida  (Englished,  the  Florishing 
Land)  contcyning  as  well  the  wonderful  straunge  Natures  and  Maners  of  the 
People,  with  the  mervylous  Commodities  and  Treasures  of  the  Country ;  as 
also  the  pleasaunt  Portes  and  Havens,  and  Wayes  thereunto  never  found  out 
before  the  last  year,  1562.  Written  in  French  by  Captain  Ribauld,  the  fyrst 
that  whollye  discovered  the  same,  and  now  newly  set  forthe  in  Englishe,  the 
XXX.  of  May,  1563. 

344 


I. 


DISCOVERIES  OF   AMERICA. 


345 


Reaching  Newfoundlancl  on  the  tenth  of  May,  Cartier 
began  to  seanh  for  a  navigable  channel  to  India. 
Three  months  were  passed  in  exploring  the  coast  of 
Labrador  and  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle  and  a  part  of  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  On  the  fifteenth  of  August, 
Cartier  set  sail  for  France,  and  arrived  in  the  port  of 
St.  Malo,  on  the  fifth  of  September.  In  the  following 
yjar,  Cartier  sailed  again  to  New  France  and  explored 
the  St.  Lawrence  River  to  the  island  of  Hochelaga,  the 
site  of  the  city  of  Montreal.  It  is  said  that  he  was 
told  by  the  natives  that  from  there  it  was  only  "  a 
month's  sailing  to  go  to  a  land  where  cinnamon  and 
cloves  are  gathered."'  Returning  from  this  voyage, 
Cartier  reached  St.  Malo  on  the  sixth  of  July,  1536.' 

The  first  explorers  of  the  new  continent  called  its 
inhabitants  by  different  names.  Columbus  and  his 
Spanish  companions,  imagining  the  field  of  their  dis- 
coveries to  be  in  Eastern  Asia,  named  the  aborigines 
Indians  {Indios),  believing  them  to  be  natives  of  India. 
Seven  of  the  people  of  Canada,  carried  to  France,  in 
1 509,  were  described  by  a  contemporaneous  Latin  writer 
as  wood  or  wild  men  {homines  sylvesires)?  The  French, 
it  appears,  called  the  natives  of  New  France  manants 
or  rnanans,  and  paysc.'zj,  peasants,  the  former  name 
being  used  in  the  middle  ages  as  a  designation  for  un- 
intelligent people  or  those  of  low  condition.  The 
name  manants  was  likewise  a  designation  for  persons 
of  this  class  living  in  villages  and  on  farms.     Manants 

'  Voyages.     Hakluyt.     vol.  iii.     p.  232. 

*  Brief  recit,  and  succincte  narration  de  la  nauigation  faicte  es  ysles  de 
Canada,  Hochelaga,  and  Saguenay  &  autres,  auec  particulieres  meurs,  lan- 
gaige  &  cerimonies  des  habitans  d'  icelles  :  fort  delectable  i  veoir.  Auec  priui- 
lege.  On  les  uend  i  Paris  au  second  pillier  en  la  grand  salle  du  Palais,  &  en 
la  rue  neufue  Nostre  dame  k  V  enseigne  de  le.scu  de  Frace,  par  Ponce  Roffet 
diet  Fanchuer  &  Anthoine  le  Clerc  fr^res.     1545. 

•  "  Septem  holes  syluestres  ex  ea  isula  {que  terra  noua  dicit)  Rothomagu  ad- 
ducHsunt," — Eusebii  Caesariensis  episcopi  chronicon.    Paris.    1512.   p.  172. 


!      :n 


i  :' 


(        il 


346 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


properly  speaking  were  the  natives  of  a  place,  and  the 
habitans  were  those  who  came  to  it  to  reside.'  The 
French  appellation  manants  or  vianans  not  only  fitly 
expressed  the  low  condition  of  the  natives  of  New 
France,  but  it  also  gave  prominence  to  the  fact  that 
they  dwelt  in  villages  and  were  indigenous  people. 
The  French,  as  late  as  the  year  1677,  called  the  old 
Indians,  or  rather  the  descendants  of  the  Senecas, 
paisansy  peasants.'  The  Italians  also  called  the  natives 
of  North  America  peasants,  paesani? 

The  Mananta  living  on  the  island  on  which  the  city 
of  New  York  is  built,  were  very  f/iendly  tc  the  French 
who  came  to  the  Crande  River,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  to  traffic  for  furs.  The  Hollanders,  however, 
found  them  to  be  quite  hostile  in  the  following  century. 
De  Laet,  the  Dutch  historian,  describing  the  natives  of 
the  Groote  River  in  1626,  remarks  :  •'  On  the  east  side, 
upon  the  main-lend,  dwell  the  Manhattans,  a  bad  race 
of  savages,  who  have  always  been  very  obstinate  and 

'  "  Manant,  s.  m.  Paysan  habilant  en  tin  village  ott  en  une  metairie  h  la 
campagne.  Indigena,  incola  fuslicus.  *  *  *  On  appelle  proprenient  vtanans, 
ceux  qui  sont  originaires  dit  lieu  ;  £r»  habilans,  ceux  qui y  sontvenus  demeurer." 
— Dictionnaire  Trevoux.     Nancy,  1740. 

"  Manant  {mn-nan),  s.  m.  1°  Terme  d' ancienne  pratique.  Habitant  d"  tin 
hourg  ott  d'  tin  village,  *  *  *  2°  Absolument,  dans  le  langage  ordinaire,  tnais 
arc  haique,  un  paysan.  *  *  *  'i,"  Aujourd'  hui,  par  extension,  homme  grassier, 
mal  ilev^y —  Dictionnaire  de  la  langue  Fran9aise,  Par  E.  Littre,  de  1'  acade- 
mic Francaise.     Paris,  1874. 

'  "  The  French  call  the  Maques,  les  Aniuez,  the  Oneydes,  les  Onoyants, 
the  Onondagas,  les  Montagneurs,  *  *  *  the  Caiougas,  les  Petuneurs,  the 
Senegues,  les  Paisans." — Observations  of  Wenworth  Greenhalj^h  in  a  journey 
from  Albany  to  ye  Indyans  westward.  1677.  London  documents  in  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Albany,  N.  Y.     vol.  iii.     p,  167, 

•  '*  This  region  is  called  by  the  peasants  (paesani)  Norumbega." — 
Raccolta  di  navigationi  e  viaggi.     Ramusio.     vol.  iii     fol.  353. 

"  Quando  per  sua  buona  uentura  intese  da  paesani,  che  erano  giunto  alia 
marina  alcuni  nauiglia."  "  Here  by  good  luclt  he  heard  from  the  natives  that 
some  boats  had  arrived  ofiF  the  coast." — Dello  Scoprimento  dell'  Isole  Frislanda, 
Eslanda,  Engronelanda,  Estotilanda,  &  Icaris-,  fatto  per  due  fratelli  Zeni. — 
Vide  Voyages  of  the  Venetian  brothers.     Major,    p.  24. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


347 


unfriencHy  toward  our  countrymen."'  He  also  says 
that  Hudson,  in  1609,  called  the  Great  River  "  Man- 
hattes  from  the  nanv^.  of  the  people  who  dwelt  at  ita 

mouth." " 

The  wrong  spelling  of  the  French  term  manant 
began  with  a  misconception  of  its  proper  pronuncia- 
tion. The  Dutch  thinking  that  the  /  was  sounded, 
pronounced  thi:  name  man-ant,  whence  '*  man  hai," 
•'  man-ath,"  "  man-ad,"  and  other  strange  forms  of  the 
name.  Wassenaer,  the  Dutch  historian,  in  1624, 
speaking  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  New  Netherland, 
says  :  "  The  Manhatcs  are  situated  at  the  mouth  "  of 
th'e  Mauritius  River.'  De  Laet  writes  the  name  Man- 
hattes,  Manatthans,  Manatthanes,  and  Manhattans.* 
De  Vries,  the  Dutch  navigator,  who  could  speak 
French,  spells  the  appellation  Menates  and  Minates.' 
In  the  ueposition  of  Catelyn  Trico,  a  French  woman, 
who  emigraiied  from  Holland,  in  1624,  to  New  Nether- 
land, the  term  is  written  Mannantans.*     Besides  tb-  e 

'  Nieuwe  'Wereldt.    Door  Johannes  de  Laet,    Tot  Leyden.    1625.    bock. 

iii.     cap.  ix. 

"  Novus  Orbis,  seu  descriptionis  Indiae  Occidentalis,  autore  Joanne  de 
Laet.     Anluerpiensi,  1633.     lib.  iii.     cap.  vii. 

When  the  island  in  1625  was  purchased  from  the  Manants  by  the  aj^'cnts 
of  the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  the  transaction  is  rpoken  of  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  their  high  mightinesses,  the  Lords  States  General  of  the 
United  Netherlands,  as  follows:  "Our  people  have  bought  the  island  Man- 
hattes  from  the  Wildcn  (wild  men)  for  the  value  of  sixty  guilders  [about 
twenty-four  dollars]."— Holland  documents,  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State,  Albany,  N.  Y.     vol.  i.     p.  155. 

'  IllstorischeVerhaeldoor  Nicolaes  i  Wassenaer.  Amsterdam,    1621-1632. 

dec!  vi.     fol.  144. 

•  Nieuwe  Wereldt.     boeck.  iii.     cap.  ix.    Novus  Orbis.    lib.  iii,     cap.  ix. 

•  Korte  historial  ende  journals.      Door  David  Pietersz.  de  Vries.     Hoom, 

1655.     PP-'M6,  151- 

•  New  York  Colonial  MSB.  xxxv. 

Samuel  de  Champlain,  the  French  explorer,  describing  in  1632  the  coast  of 
America  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  John's  River,  New  Brunswick,  writes  :  "  I  was  at 
four  islands  near  the  river  St.  John.  *  *  *  Farther  west  there  are  other  islands, 
one  of  which  extends  six  leagues,  which  is  called  by  the   savages,   Menane." 


V 


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348 


DISCOVERIES   OF  AMERICA. 


peculiar  changes  the  name  has  many  other  anomalous 
forms.' 

When  the  first  French  explorers  sailed  along  that 
massive  bulwark  of  trap-rock,  nov/  called  The  Pali- 
sades, rising  on  the  west  side  of  the  Grande  River  to 
varying  altitudes  from  two  to  five  hundred  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  stream,  and  ranging  northward  and 
southward  a  distance  of  more  than  ten  miles,  they  were 
peculiarly  impressed  with  its  grandeur,  and  figuratively 
called  it  L'  Anormee  Berge,  (The  Grand  Scarp.) 

The  adjective  anormee  and  the  noun^der^-e  definitely 
describe  the  steep  and  extensive  wall  of  stone  which 
borders  the  noble  river,  new  bearing  the  name  of  a 
later  explorer.  Anorme,  an  obsolete  form  of  the  ad- 
jective enorme,  signifies  that  which  i.:  grand,  vast, 
majestic'  The  noun  berge,  besides  meaning  an 
elevated  bon'  of  a  river,  a  scarp  of  a  fortification,  a 
steep  side  of  a  moat  or  of  a  road,  is  a  designation  for 
certain     rocks    ele'.ated    perpendicularly   above    the 

Opposite  this  word,  Cbamplain  writes  on  the  marginal  space,  "  L'isk  de  Man- 
thane"  adding  a  /and  an  /;  tc  the  second  syllable  of  the  words. — Les  voyages 
de  la  Nouvelle  Jf' ranee  occidentalp,  dicte  Canada,  faits  par  le  Sr.  de  Champlain, 
Sanctongeois.     Paris,  1632.     chap.  ii.     p.  58. 

'  In  dififerent  historical  works  and  documents  the  foll'jwing  modes  of 
spelling  the  word  appear :  Manatans,  Manates,  Manate,  Manath,  Minathans, 
Manj.the,  Manathej,  Manatte,  Manetto,  Menates,  Minates,  Manhat.es,  Man- 
hatas,  Manna-ha'ta,  Manhattes,  ivianahattes,  Manahattr,  Mahates,  Manahatas, 
Manahatans,  Manahata,  Manhatens,  Manhathans,  Manhatoes,  Man'.iatoos, 
Mr.nhatos,  Mr.nhattans,  Manhatten,  Manhattoes,  Manhattons,  Ma.ihattos, 
Manhuttons,  Manahactas,  Manchatas,  Manades,  Manadoes,  Manados,  Menade, 
Monhatous,  Munhaddon,  and  Manhattan. —  ViJe  General  index  to  documents 
relating  to  the  colonial  history  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

•  "  AnormS,  ^e,  &'  anomial,  adj.  Ces  mots  ne  sonlplus  en  usa^e.  Borel  dit 
qu'ils  signifient  qui  est  contre  la  rigle  commune,  (Sr-  qu'  inomte  vieni  de  ces 
mots.  *  *  *  Anorme,  adj.  m  &*  f,  Frodigieux,  excessif.  Immanis,  immen- 
sus." — Dictionnaire  Trevoux. 

' '  Pir  extension  de  la  signification  morale  h  la  signification  physique,  ex- 
traordinaire par  sa  gros^eur  ou  par  sa  grandeur.  Un  dnorme  bloc  de 
granit.  *  *  *  Rem.  Quand  Anorme  signifie  excessif  en  grandtuf  ou  en 
grosseur,  il  st  met  avant  ou  aprh  sen  substanttf," — Dictionnaire  de  1"  iangue 
Franjaise.     Littre. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


349 


water.*  In  an  old  French  lexicon  It  is  said:  "They 
likewise  call  in  marine  phraseology  V'.rges  or  barges 
those  great  rocks,  rugged  and  perpendicularly  elevated, 
that  is  to  say,  uprightly  and  plumb,  as  the  barges  or 
barges  of  Olone  :  such  rocks  as  are  Scylla  and  Charyb- 
dis,  toward  Messina." " 

A  more  appropriate  name  could  not  have  been  se- 
lected to  designate  geographically  this  part  of  New 
France  than  that  of  The  Land  of  the  Grand  Scarp  {La 
Terre  d!  Anormee  Berge),  or,  in  more  familiar  phrase- 
ology. The  Land  of  the  Palisades.  The  words,  scarp 
and  palisade,  are  terms  of  fortification.  The  first  des- 
ignates the  steep  slope  below  the  parapet  of  a  fortifica- 
tion, next  to  the  ditch  ;  the  second  an  upright  row  of 
strong  stakes  set  firmly  in  the  ground  in  front  of  the 
counter-scarp,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  moat  from 
the  scarp. 

The  mispronunciation  of  the  peculiar  geographical 
name  was  evidently  the  cause  of  its  orthography  being 
obscured  so  soon  after  it  was  used  as  the  designation 
for  the  elevated  border  of  the  Grande  River.  The  more 
frequent  use  thereafter  of  inorme  for  anorme  made  the 
te  -m  more  unfamiliar.  It  would  seem  also  that  when 
the  name  should  have  been  written  La  Terre  d'Enorme 
Berge,  that  it  was  inscribed,  La  Terre  de  Normeberge, 

* ''  Bers^e  {bhr-f).  s.  f.  i°.  Bnrdrdcvi,  escarps,  d'une  rivih-e,  a'un  fosi-', 
d'  un  chemin.  2°.  Terine  de  marine.  Ceiiains  rochers  iUvh  h  pic  sur 
r  tau    *     *     * 

"  Eiyin.  Espapt.  et  ital.  barga.  Diez  re  vcut  pas  qu' il  scit  d'  srigine 
germaniqtie,  et  il  en  rapproche  ie  kymri  bargodi,  surplomi'er .  bargod,  bord. 
Cependant  le  bas-lalin  berga,  garde,  defense  (qui  vicnt  de  V  allcmand  bergen, 
difendre,  proUger),  n  aui-ait-il  pas  pit  donner,  par  tine  sirie  de  sens,  defense, 
forlijicalion,  meule ,  et  finalement  bord  escarps ?" — Dictionnaire  de  la  langue 
Fran9aise.     Littre. 

"  "  On  appelle  aussi  en  timte  de  Mir,  berges,  ou  barges,  les  grands  rochers, 
Apres  6f  rtfi'evez  h  pic ;  c'est-h-dire,  droitement  Ss'  h  plomb,  comme  les  birges  oh 
barges  tV  Olotte  :  telles  sont  Sylla  b'  Carybde  vers  Messine." — Dictionnaire 
Trevoux, 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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The  change  of  the  qualifying  term  to  a  word  of  two 
syllables,  as  norom,  norum,  nurum,  and  norim,  ren- 
dered the  name  more  ambiguous.  In  like  manner  the 
noun  berge  was  corrupted,  being  spelled  bergue,  bega, 
berg,  a.nd  bagra.  In  this  way  the  territorial  designation 
became  La  Terre  de  Njrumbega,  La  Terre  de  Norcm- 
begue,  T^a  Terre  de  Noromberge,  and  La  Terre  de  Norem- 
bergue,  and  its  meaning  and  derivation  incomprehensi- 
ble to  the  descendants  of  its  originators. 

Gerard  Mercator,  on  a  terrestrial  globe,  [globus 
terrae),  made  in  1 541,  represents  the  Grande  River  as  if 
its  channel  were  filled  with  anormee  bergcs,  which  he 
designates  with  the  misspelled  name  "  Anorumbega." ' 
On  a  map  of  the  world,  made  about  the  year  1548,  for 
King  Henry  il.  of  France,  the  appellation  "  Anoro- 
bagra  "  designates  the  river  of  the  Grand  Scarp. ' 

In  the  sixteenth  century  proper  names  less  peculiar 
in  construction  than  the  appellation  L'  Anormee  Berge, 
were  written  very  irregularly.  It  is  said  by  Disraeli 
that  Leicester  subscribed  his  name  eight  different 
ways,  and  that  Villers  is  spelled  fourteen  times  differ- 
ently in  rhe  de^^ds  of  the  family.  Lower  mentions 
that  the  name  of  Mainwaring,  has  the  remarkable  num- 
ber of  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  variations  in  differ- 

'  Gerard  Mercator  was  born  at  Rupelmonde,  in  Ease  Flanders,  on  the  fifth 
of  'March,  \t,l2.  Mercator  is  the  Latinized  form  of  liis  German  name,  Kremer, 
a  tradesman,  merchant.  After  studying  at  Bois-le-Duc,  in  Brabant,  he  entered 
the  university  of  Louvain.  He  selected  for  his  profession  the  manufacture  of 
mathematical  instruments  and  the  art  of  drawing  and  engraving.  His  carlo- 
graphic  fame  began  with  the  engraving  of  a  map  of  Palestine,  in  1537.  Next 
followed  a  map  of  Flanders,  in  1540.  Then  in  1541,  a  large  terrestrial  globe, 
which  he  dedicated  to  the  "  Illuslriss  Duo  Nicolao  P'-rrenoto,  Domino  (t  Cranu- 
ella  "  ;  the  original  drawings  of  which  are  preserved  in  the  Royal  library  of 
Belgium,  in  Brussels.  In  1552,  Mercator  removed  from  Louvain  to  Duisburg, 
where,  in  1569,  he  made  his  famous  map  ot  the  world.     He  died  in  December, 

1504. 

*  The  original  map  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  count  of  Crawford  and 
Balcarres,  Scotland. 


w 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


351 


ent  documents.  Even  in  this  age  of  dictionaries  the 
spelling  of  uncommon  geographical  names  does  not 
always  conform  to  their  orthography.  A  record  has 
been  kept  for  a  number  of  years  of  the  different  ways 
in  which  the  name  of  the  city  of  Cohoes,  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  has  been  spelled  on  letters  addressed  to 
that  post-office,  and  the  extraordinary  number  of  one 
hundred  and  ninety- seven  changes  in  the  form  of  the 
appellation  has  been  registered. 

There  seems  to  be  but  a  single  statement  that  micrht 
be  used  to  support  an  assertion  that  the  natives  of  the 
country  of  New  France  originated  the  name  "  Norum- 
bega."  It  is  in  Ramusio's  Italian  translation  of  the 
French  s-ea-captain's  description  of  Francesca,  in  which 
it  is  said:  "  This  region  is  called  by  the  peasants  Nor- 
umbega."  Ken6  Goulaine  de  Laudonniere,  a  well- 
informed  French  naval  officer,  who  had  command  of  a 
French  fort  in  Florida,  in  i564,  contradicts  the  asser- 
tion that  the  name  was  transferred  from  an  early  map 
of  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia,  saying:  "  It  is  called  by  the 
moderns  Terre  de  Norumberge."  Andre  Thevet,  the 
French  geographer,  who  sailed  along  its  coast  in  i556, 
declares  that  his  countrymen  called  the  Grande  River 
"  Norombegue,"  and  the  Indians,  "  Aggoncy." 

One  of  the  earliest  accounts  of  the  Land  of  the 
Grand  Scarp  extant  is  in  the  discourse  of  the  unnamed 
sea-captain  of  Dieppe,  written  in  1539.  Describing 
the  country  of  Francesca,  he  says  .  "  Beyond  Cape 
Breton  there  is  a  region  contiguous  to  this  cape,  the 
coast  of  which  extends  west  and  a  quarter  southwest 
as  far  as  the  region  of  Florida,  and  it  stretches  full 
five  hundred  leagues,  which  coast  was  discovered 
fifteen  years  ago,  by  Monsieur  Giovanni  da  Verrazzano, 
in  the  name  of  King  Francis  and  of  Madame,  the 


4  a 


352 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


^:i 


regent,  and  this  region  is  called  !)y  many  the  land  of 
the  French  (la  Fraticese),  and  likewise  by  the  Portu- 
guese, and  its  termination  toward  Florida  is  in  78°  west 
longitude  and  30°  north  latitude.' 

•'  The  inhabitants  of  this  domain  are  a  tractable 
people,  amiable  and  agreeable.  The  country  abounds 
with  all  kinds  of  fruit.  Oranges  and  almonds  grow  in 
wild  forests,  with  many  different  varieties  of  odoriferous 
trees.  This  region  is  called  by  the;  peasants  [paesani) 
Nofumbcga,  and  between  it  and  Brazil  there  is  a  large 
gulf,  extending  west  as  far  as  the  ninety-second  merid- 
lan.   '  ' 

In  1540  Jacques  Cartier  again  sailed  to  New 
France  and  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence  River.  Jean 
FranQois  de  la  Roque,  Sieur  de  Roberval,  was  placed 
in  command  of  this  expedition,  and,  by  letters-patent, 
dated  January  i5,  1540,  was  commissioned  viceroy 
and  lieutenant-general  of  the  new  lands  belonging  to 
France  in  the  western  hemisphere.  Jean  Alphonse, 
an  experienced  navigator,  a  native  of  Saintonge,  near 
the  town  of  Cognac,  France,  accompanied  Sieur  de 
Roberval  as  chief  pilot.' 

In  the  manuscript  of  the  cosmography  of  Raulin 
Secalart,  written  about  the  year  1 5 45,  preserved  in  the 

*  The  jdictof  Francis  I.,  appointing  his  mothor,  Louise  of  Savoy,  regent, 
is  dated  October,  17,  1524,  but  before  this  lime  she  had  virtually  assumed  in 
part  the  direction  of  the  government. 

'  The  large  gulf  is  that  which  is  now  called  thi  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

"A  discourse  of  a  great  French  sea-captain  of  tlie  town  of  Dieppe  concerning 
the  voyages  made  to  the  New  World  of  the  West  Indies  called  New  France, 
from  the  fortieth  to  the  forly-seventh  parallel  under  the  arctic  pole,  and  con- 
cerning the  country  of  Brazil,  Guinea,  Isle  of  St.  Lawrence  and  that  of  Suma- 
tra as  far  as  the  French  caravels  and  ships  have  sailed." — Discorso  d'  vn  gran 
capitano  di  mare  Francese  del  Lvogno  di  Dieppji.  Raccolta  di  navigationi  et 
viag;ji.     Ramusio.    vol.  iii.     fol.  353. 

•  Les  voyages  auaniureaux  dv  capitaine  Ian  Alfonce,  Sain':tongeois.  Auec 
Priuilege  du  Roy.    A  Poitiers,  au  Pelican  par  Ian  de  Mamef. 

Jean  Alphonse  died  about  the  year  1548. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


353 


National  library,  in  Paris,  is  a  short  description  of  the 
coast  and  people  of  La  Terre  d'  Anorm^e  Berge.* 
The  writer,  evidently  Jean  Alphonse,  very  faithfully 
describes  Long  Island  Sound,  the  eastern  entrance  to 
the  Grande  River,  when  he  says  :  "  This  river  is  wider 
than  forty  leagues  of  latitude  at  its  mouth,  and  within, 
the  width  is  as  much  as  thirty  or  forty  leagues,  and  it 
is  full  of  islands,  which  extend  ten  or  twelve  leagues  in 
thf!  sea,  and  it  is  very  dangerous  on  account  of  rocks 
and  swashings."  These  observations  are  remarkably 
consonant  with  those  of  a  later  writer  :  "  Long  Island 
Sound,  a  Mediterranean  Sea,  separating  the  island 
from  the  main-land  of  Connecticut,  is  connected  with 
the  ocean  at  each  end  of  the  island  and  affords  a  shel- 
tered line  of  navigation  of  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  in  extent.  *  *  *  Opposite  Harlem 
River  is  the  noted  pass  or  strait  called  Hell- Gate, 
which  is  crooked,  and  from  the  numerous  rocks,  islands, 
ed(Jies,  and  currents,  is  somewhat  difficult  and  danger- 
ous. 

The  identity  of  the  river  called  by  the  French 
writer  "  Norombegue,"  now  the  Hudson,  is  satisfactor- 
ily established  by  the  statement  that  the  water  of  the 
river  is  salty  to  the  height  of  forty  leagues  or  eighty- 
eight  miles.  This  fact  is  incontrovertible.  The 
Hudson  is  salty  or  brackish  beyond  the  city  of  Pough- 
keepsie,  which  is  about  ninety-three  miles  north  of 
Sand   Hook.'     The  assertion   could   not  be  verified 

"  The  two  first  leaves  of  the  manuscript  are  lost  and  with  them  the  tide  of 
the  work.  Inasmuch  as  the  subject  of  the  work  is  defined  in  wliat  may  be  said 
is  the  preface,  and  as  the  manuscript  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  bears  the 
names  of  "  Jehan  Allefonsce  "  and  "  Raulin  Secalart,  cosemographe  de  Ilonne- 
fleur,  1545,"  the  liile  of  the  work  maybe  reconstructed  and  written  :  Cosmogra- 
phie  de  Jehan  Allefonsce  et  Raulin  Secalart.  1545.  The  manuscript  is  a  folio  of 
one  hundred  and  ninety-four  leaves.     It  is  designated  MS.  No.  676. 

*  History  of  Long  Island  by  Benjamin  F.  Thompson.    1843.    p.  26. 

*  The  tide  flows  up  the  Hudson  as  far  as  the  city  of  Troy,  about  one  hundred 
and  seventy-four  miles  from  the  ocean. 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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were  it  assumed  that  the  description  applies  to  the 
Penobscot,  or  the  Kennebec,  or  the  Merrimack,  or  the 
Connecticut  River.  It  would  seem  that  the  writer 
speaks  of  the  Palisades  bordering  the  west  side  of  the 
river,  opposite  the  Indian  village  of "  Norombegue," 
when  he  says  :  "  On  the  side  toward  the  west  of  the 
said  town  there  are  many  rocks  which  extend  to  the 
sea,  about  fifteen  miles." 

'•  I  say  that  the  Cape  of  St.  John,  called  Cape  Bre- 
ton, and  the  Cape  of  the  Franciscan,  are  northeast  and 
southwest,  and  range  a  point  from  an  east  and  west 
course,  and  there  are  one  hundred  and  forty  leagues 
on  the  course,  and  which  makes  one  cape,  called  the 
Cape  of  Norombegue.  The  said  cape  is  in  forty-one 
degrees  of  the  height  of  the  arctic  pole.  The  said 
coast  [z.  e.  of  Connecticut]  is  all  sandy,    *     *     *  «  flat, 

'  An  un  Jeclphered  word  in  the  manuscript. 

"  Je  dilz  que  ie  cap  de  Saint  Jchan,  diet  Cap  h  Breton,  et  le  cap  de  la  Fran- 
ciscane,  sont  nord-est  et  sud-otiest  et  prcnncnt  tin  quart  de  est  h  ouest,  et y  a  en 
la  route  cent  quarante  lieues  et  icy  faict  ung  cap  appeli  le  cap  de  Norombigue. 
Le  diet  cap  est  far  quarante  et  ung  degrez  de  la  haulteur  du  polle  artique.  La 
dicte  coste  est  toute  sableuse  *  *  *  basse,  sans  nulle  montaigne.  Et  au  long 
laquelle  coste  y  a  plusieurs  isles  de  sable  et  coste  fort  dangereuse  de  bancs  el  rochiers. 

"  Les  gens  de  cesle  coste  et  de  Cap  i  Breton  sont  maulvaises  gens,  puissans, 
grandzfleschicrs,  et  sont  gens  qui  vivent  de  poissons  et  de  chair,  et  ont  auLun 
motz  et  par  lent  quasi  le  mesme  langaige  de  ceux  de  Canada  etsont  grand  peuple. 
Et  ceuxde  Cap  h  Breton  vont  donner  la  guerre  h  ceulx  de  la  Tene  vcufvc  quand 
ils  peschent  et  pour  nulle  chose  ne  saulvcroyeut  la  vie  h  ung  homnie  quand  ilz  le 
prennent,  si  n'est  jcune  enfant  ou  jeune  fille  et  sont  si  crucls  que  si  prennent 
ung  homme  portant  barbe,  ilz  luy  couppcnt  les  mcmbres  et  les  portent  h  Icurs 
femnies  et  enjjfans,  affin  d'  estre  vengez  en  ccla.  Et  y  a  entre eux  for.e pelleter- 
ies  de  touslis  bcstcs. 

"  Audcla  du  cap  de  Koromhigue  descend  la  rivilre  dudict  Norontbigue, 
environ  vingt  et  cinq  lieues  du  cap.  La  dicte  riviire  est  large  de  plus  de 
quarante  lieues  ae  latitude  en  son  ettrde  et  cesle  largeur  au  dedans  hicn  trente  ou 
quarante  lieues  et  ett  toute  pleine  d'  isles  qui  entrcnt  bien  dix  ou  douze  lieues  en 
la  mer  et  est  fort  dangereuse  de  rochers  et  bapturcs.  La  dicte  riviire  est  par 
quarante  et  deux  degrez  de  la  haulteur  du  polle  arlique. 

"  Audedans  de  la  dicte  riviire  quinze  lieues  y  a  une  ville  qui  s'  appelle  No- 
rombigue  ety  a  en  elle  de  bonnes  gens  ety  a  force  pelleteries  de  ioutes  beslcs,  Les 
gens  de  la  inlle  sont  vestuz  de  pelleteries,  portans  manteoulx  de  martres.  fe  me 
ebubte  qu*  la  dicte  riviire  va  entreren  la  riviire  de  Ho^helaga,  car  elle  estsalUe 


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without  any  mountain.  And  along  this  coast  there  are 
many  isles  of  sand  and  the  coast  very  dangerous  on 
account  of  banks  and  rocks. 

"  Ti:e  people  of  this  coast  and  of  Cape  Breton  are 
an  ill-disposed  race,  powerful,  great  arrow-makers,  and 
live  on  fish  and  on  flesh,  and  are  not  talkative,  and 
speak  almost  the  same  language  as  those  of  Canada, 
and  are  a  great  people.  And  those  of  Cape  Breton  go 
to  make  war  upon  those  of  the  New  Land  when  they 
are  fishing,  and  not  for  anything  do  they  spare  the  life 
of  any  one  when  they  take  him,  unless  it  is  a  young 
boy  or  a  young  girl ;  and  they  are  so  cruel  that  if  they 
take  a  man  having  a  beard,  they  cut  off  his  legs  and 
arms  and  carry  them  to  their  wives  and  children,  in 
order  to  be  avenged  in  that  way.  And  there  are  among 
them  many  peltries  of  all  animals. 

"  Beyond  the  Cape  of  NorombSgue,  the  river  of  the 
said  Noromb^gue  descends  about  twenty-five  leagues 
from  the  cape.  The  said  river  is  wider  than  forty 
leagues  of  latitude  at  its  mouth  [entrance  of  Long 
Island  Sound],  and  within,  this  width  is  as  much  as 
thirty  or  forty  leagues,  and  it  is  full  of  isles  which 
stretch  out  ten  or  twelve  leagues  in  the  sea  [or  Sound], 
and  it  is  very  dangerous  on  account  of  rocks  and 
s washings.  The  said. river  is  in  forty-two  degrees  of 
the  height  of  the  arctic  pole. 

"  Up  the  said  river,  fifteen  leagues,  there  is  a  town 
which  is  called  Norombegue,  and  there  is  in  it  a  good 

plus  de  quarante  liettcs  en  dedans  selon  la  diet  des  gens  de  la  ville.  Les  gens 
par  lent  beaucoup  de  motz  qui  approuchent  du  latin  et  adorentle  soleil  et  sont  belles 
gens  et  grandz  hommes.     La  terre  de  Norombigue  est  haulte  et  bonne. 

"  Enavant  et  audefadela  diete  riviire  cent  cinquante  lieucs  y  a  une  isle  qui 
s'  appelle  la  Vetmonde  qui  est  paries  trente  et  trots  degrez  de  la  hatilteur  du  polle 
artique,  Et  du  couste  devers  louest  de  la  dicte  ville,  y  a  forces  rochiersqtii  s'  avan- 
cent  dans  la  mer  hien  quinze  lieues.  et  du  coste  vers  le  nort  y  a  une  anse  en  laquelle 
y  a  une  petite  isle  laquelle  est  fort  suhjecte  a  tempester  et  n'  y  pent  habiter  " — 
Cosmographie  de  Jehan  Allefonsce  et  Raulin  Secarlart.    SS0     fol.  184-189. 


I  4 


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DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


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people,  and  they  have  many  peltries  of  all  kinds  of 
animals.  The  inhabitants  of  the  town  are  dressed  in 
skins,  wearing  mantles  of  martens.  I  think  that  the 
said  river  runs  into  the  river  Hochelaga  [the  St.  Law- 
rence], for  it  is  salt  for  more  than  forty  leagues  up, 
according  to  the  statement  of  the  people  of  the  town. 
The  people  use  many  w-ords  which  resemble  the  Latin, 
and  they  worship  the  sun,  and  are  a  handsome  people, 
and  large  framed.  The  land  of  Noromb^gue  is  high 
and  good. 

"  Before  and  on  this  side  of  the  said  river,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  leagues,  there  is  an  island  called 
Vermonde  [Bermuda  ?]  which  is  in  about  thirty-three 
degrees  of  the  height  of  the  arctic  pole.'  And  on  the 
west  side  of  the  said  town  there  are  many  rocks  which 
extend  to  the  sea,  about  fifteen  leagues,  and  north  of 
it  there  is  a  bay,  in  which  there  is  a  small  island,  which 
is  often  subject  to  tempests  and  cannot  be  inhabited." 

While  Jean  Alphonse  was  exploring  the  coast  of 
La  Terre  d'  Anorm^e  Berge  (which  at  this  time  geo- 
graphically included  all  the  country  between  the  Grande 
River  and  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence),  he  ascended  the 
Grande  River  to  the  height  of  its  navigation,  from 
which  point  he  inferred  that  the  stream  extended  to 
the  St.  Lawrence,  as  it  is  represented  on  the  map 
made  by  Giacomo  de  Gastaldi,  a  Piedmontese  cartog- 
rapher, about  the  year  i553.'  "  I  have  been  at  a 
bay  as  far  as  forty-twc  degrees,  between  Norumbega 

'  The  Bermudas  or  Somers's  islands  lie  between  32'  14'  and  32'  25'  north 
latitude,  and  64"  38'  and  64°  52'  west  longitude.  In  1522,  Juan  Bermudez,  a 
Spaniard,  while  on  a  voyage  from  Spain  to  Cuba,  was  wrecked  on  them.  In 
1609  Sir  Geosge  Somers,  sailing  to  Virginia,  met  with  a  similar  misfortune 
among  them.  They  are  said  to  number  three  hundred  and  sixty-five,  and  are 
formed  by  coral  reefs.  The  principal  islands  are  Bermuda  or  Long  Island,  St. 
George's,  Ireland,  Somerset,  and  St.  David's  Island. 

*  The  map  is  contained  in  the  third  volume  of  Ramusio's  Raccolta  di  navi- 
galioni  e  viaggi. 


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Ki: 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


357 


anci  Florida,  and  I  have  not  searched  the  end  thereof, 
and  I  know  not  whether  it  [the  river]  pass  through. 

*  *  *  J  doubt  not  but  [the  river]  Norumbega  en- 
tereth  into  the  river  of  Canada,  and  unto  the  sea  of 
Saguenay." ' 

This  opinion,  that  the  Hudson  was  an  outlet  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  was  held  by  the  Dutch  as  late  as  the 
year  1626,  for  De  Laet  observes  :  "  Judging  from  ap- 
pearances this  river  extends  to  the  great  river  of  St. 
Lawrence,  or  Canada,  since  ou*"  skippers  assure  us 
that  the  natives  come  to  the  fort  [on  the  site  of  Al- 
bany] from  that  river. " " 

Ren6  Goulaine  de  Laudonni^re,  a  French  officer, 
commanding  Fort  Caroline,  on  the  river  May,  in  1564, 
gives,  ill  his  notable  history  of  Florida,  a  short  account 
of  Verrazanno's  discoveries  in  1524.'  He  says  that 
the  French  planted  in  the  New  Land  "  the  ensigns  and 
arms  of  the  king  of  France,  so  that  the  Spaniards 
themselves,  who  were  there  afterward,  have  called  this 
country  French  land  {nOmi  ce  pais  terre  Francesque), 

*  *  *  The  east  part  of  it  is  named  by  the  moderns 
Terre  de  Norumberge,  which  ends  at  the  Gulf  of  Ca- 
mas, which  separates  it  from  the  island  of  Canada."* 

Not  long  after  the  discovery  of  Francesca  by  Ver- 
razzano,  French  barques  were  making  voyages  to  its 

'  Voyages.     Hakluyt.     vol.  iii,    pp.  239,  240. 

*  Nieuwe  Wereldt.     boek  iii.     cap.  ix. 

*  In  the  dedication  of  Laudonni^re's  notable  history  to  Sir  Walter  Ra- 
leigh, dated  March  i,  1586,  the  delayed  publication  of  the  work  is  thus  ad- 
verted to  :  "  It  having  been  suppressed  and  forgotten  for  nearly  twenty  years, 
I  h&ve,  with  the  diligence  of  Mr.  Hakluyt,  a  gentleman  well-versed  in  geo- 
graphical history  and  in  various  languages  and  sciences,  disinterred  it,  as  it 
were,  from  the  tomb,  where  it  has  lain  so  long  in  useless  repose,  and  brought  i. 
before  the  world."  M.  Basanier,  the  publisher,  says  he  followed  the  text  of  the 
manuscript  literatim,  without  any  emendation  or  changes. 

*  "  That  which  is  toward  the  arctic  or  north  pole  is  called  New  France 
insomuch  as  in  the  the  year  1524,  Jean  Verrazano,  a  Florentine,  was  sent  by 
King  Francis  I  and  Madame,  the  regent,  his  mother,  to  the  new  countries,  on 


358 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


\i 


1(1  i 


ilil 


i 


coast,  some  to  obtain  cod-fish  and  others  furs.  As  re- 
lated by  Jean  Alphonse,  the  people  of  the  village  of 
L'  Anorm^e  Berge  had  "  many  peltries  of  all  kinds  of 
animals."  The  large  quantities  of  beaver,  otter,  and 
other  skins  obtained  from  the  Manants,  dwelling  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Grande  River,  induced  the  speculative 
Frenchmen  engaged  in  the  traffic  to  erect  at  this 
point  a  small  fort,  where  their  factors  might  reside  and 
more  advantageously  enlarge  their  purchases  of  furs. 
The  Indian  village,  on  the  island  on  which  the  city  of 
New  York  is  built,  was  picturesquely  situated  on  the 
border  of  the  deep,  limpid  lake,  then  covering  the  sites 
of  the  plots  of  ground  included  between  the  lines  of 
Elm,  Baxter,  Worth,  and  Franklin  streets.  Near  the 
south  end  of  the  lake  (which  extended  as  far  as  the  in- 
tersection of  Centre  and  Duane  streets  and  emptied 
into  the  Hudson  at  Canal  Street)  was  a  small  island. 
Eligible,  and  opposite  the  tongue  of  land  on  which  the 
Manants  dwelt,  the  French  fur  factors  selected  it  as  the 

which  he  landed  and  explored  the  whole  cocst  extending  from  the  tropic  of 
Cancer,  namely,  froni  the  twenty-eighth  to  the  fiflielh  degree,  and  still  more 
toward  the  north, 

"  He  planted  at  this  place  the  ensigns  and  aims  of  the  king  of  France,  so 
that  the  Spaniards  themselves,  who  were  there  afterward,  have  called  this 
country  French  land.  It  extends  in  latitude  from  the  twenty-fifth  to  the  fifty- 
fourth  degree  toward  the  north  ;  and  in  longitude,  from  the  two  hundred  and 
tenth  to  the  three  hundred  and  thirtieth  degree.  The  east  part  of  it  is  called 
by  the  modems  the  land  of  Norumberge,  which  ends  at  the  Gult  of  Gamas, 
which  separates  it  from  the  island  of  Canada. " 

"  Ce//e  qui  est  vers  le pole  Arctique  ou  Septenfrion,  est  nommee  la  noutielle 
France,  pout  autant  qte  /'  en  mil  cinq  ces  vingt  quatre,  Jean  Verrazano  Flor- 
entin  fui  cnuoyi  par  le  Roy  Francois  premier,  ^  par  Madame  la  Regente  sa 
mere  aux  terres  neuues,  ausquelles  ilprit  terre  b'  descouurit '  •  Hie  la  coste  qui 
est  depuis  le  Tropique  de  Cancer,  h  scauoirdepuis  le  vingt-kuictieimc  degri  iusques 
au  cinquantiesme  :  fi^  encore  plus  deuers  le  North.  Ilplanta  en  ce  pais  les  en- 
seignes,  &"  armoiries  du  Roy  de  Frdce  :  de  sorte  que  les  Espagnols  mesmes  qui  y 
furent  depuis  ant  nomS  ce  pais  terre  Francesque.  *  *  *  La  partie  Orientate  d' 
icelle  est  nommee  par  les  modemes  terre  de  Norumberge,  laquelle  abortit  au  Golphe 
de  Gamas,  qui  la  separe  d'  a.tec  r  Isle  de  Canada." — L' historic  nocable  de  la 
Florida  sit^'ee  es  Indes  Occidentales.  Par  le  Capitaine  Laudonniire.  Mise 
en  lumicre  par  M.  Basanier.    Paris,  15S6.    pp.  i,  2. 


!  >  I 


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M 


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Copy  of  a  pari  of  a  map  of  the  cily  of  New  York  made  by  James  Lyne  in  1728. 


DISCOVERIES  OF*  AMERICA. 


359 


site  of  the  fortified  trading  house  v/hich  they  erected 
and  called  Le  Fort  d'  Anorm^e  Berge  (The  Fort  of  the 
Grand  Scarp).' 

The  ly-ench  geographer,  Andr^  Thevet,  who  sailed 
along  the  coast  of  La  Terre  d'  Anormee  Berge,  in 
1 556,  besides  corroborating  some  of  the  precedinpr 
statements  respecting  the  discovery  of  New  France, 
and  mentioning  the  fact  that  the  Grande  River  was 
called  by  his  countrymen  the  river  of  "  Norombegue," 
and  by  the  Indians  "  Aggoncy,"  says'*:  "  Having  left 
Florida  on  the  left  hand  with  a  great  number  of 
islands,  islets,  gulfs,  and  capes,  a  river  presents  itself, 
one  of  the  beautiful  rivers  that  are  in  the  world, 
which  we  named  Norombesfue,  and  the  Indians  Ao-- 
goncy,  and  which  is  marked  on  some  marine  charts 
Grande   river.^     Several  other  beautiful  rivers  enter 

*  '  The  Dutch,  when  they  took  possession  of  Mananfs  Island,  in  the  seveu- 
tcenth  ceniury,  called  the  lake  het  Versch  water  (the  Fresh  water),  Ti.e  island 
on  which  the  French  built  the  fort  was,  in  1728,  selected  as  the  sitt.  of  a  pow- 
der-house, which  was  erected  there  to  isolate  it  from  common  intruders.  John 
Fitch,  in  the  summei  of  1796,  navigated  his  small  steamboat  on  the  Fresh 
water  lake. —  Vide  History  of  the  city  of  New  York.  By  David  T.  Valentine. 
1853.  pp.  II,  282-284.  History  of  the  city  of  New  York.  By  Mrs.  Martha  J. 
Lamb.  New  York  and  Chicago,  1877-1880.  vol.  ii.  pp.  423,  424,  565,  736. 
Documentary  history  of  New  York.    vol.  ii.    p.  603. 

'  Andre  Thevet  was  born  at  Angoul^me,  France,  about  the  second  year  of 
the  sixtiienlh  century.  He  visited  Italy,  Greece,  Egypt,  and  Palestine,  and  on 
his  return  to  France,  in  1554,  published  an  account  of  his  ♦ravels.  In  July, 
1555,  he  accomy^anied  Chevalier  Villegagnon  to  Brazil  to  plant  a  colony  there 
of  French  Protestants.  When  Thevet  arrived  at  Rio  Janeiro  in  November,  he 
was  taken  sick,  and  to  hasten  his  recovery  he  embarked  for  France  on  the  last 
day  of  January,  t556.  The  vessel  sailed  on  the  home  voyage  northward  along 
the  coast  of  North  America  as  far  as  Newfoundland.  Thevet  died  in  Paris, 
November  23,  1590.  He  was  the  author  of  the  following  works :  "  Cos- 
mographie  du  Levant,"  Lyons,  1554  ;  "  Les  singulairites  de  la  France  antarc- 
tique,  autrement  nommee  Amerique,  et  de  plusieurs  autres  terres  et  iles  decou- 
vertes  de  notre  temps,"  Paris,  1556 ;  "  Discours  de  la  bataille  de  Dreux," 
Paris,  1563  ;  "  Cosmographie  universelle,  illustree  de  diverses  figures  des  choses 
les  plus  remarquables  vues  pari' auteur,"  Paris,  1571;  and  "  Les  vrais  portraits 
et  vies  des  hommes  illustres,  grec^,  latins,  ct  paiens,  recueille.s  de  leurs  tableaux, 
livres,  medailles,  antiques  et  modemes,"  Paris,  1584. 

•  Aggoncy  or  Aggonzi  signified  the  head.    Voyages.    Hakluyt.    vol.  iii.    p. 


i 


360 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


this  one,  on  which  formerly  the  French  had  built  a 
small  fort  about  ten  or  twelve  leagues  up  it,  which  fort 
was  surrounded  by  fresh  water  that  empties  into  the 
river,  and  this  place  was  called  the  fort  of  Norom- 
begiie." ' 

The  site  of  the  fort  of  L'Anorm^e  Berge  is  indicated 
by  Gerard  Mercator  on  his  o^lebrated  map  of  the 
world,  made  at  Duisburg,  Germany,  in  1569.  The 
famous  cartographer  not  only  designates  the  situation 
of  the  French  fort  on  the  east  side  of  the  Grande  River 
with  a  conventional  sign  used  by  map-makers,  but 
also  inscribes  the  name  "Norombega"  immediately 
over  it.  As  is  seen,  he  outlines  the  Grande  River  to 
the  height  of  Its  navigation,  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Mohawk,  as  far  as  the  French  had  explored  it.' 

It  seems  that  the  French  ^ur  merchants  undertook  to 
build,  about  the  year  1 540,  a  chdteati  or  castle,  at  tlie 

'  *^Ayant  laissi  !a  Florida  h  main  gaulche,  atiec  grand  nombre  d'  Isles, 
Islettes,  Goulphes,  &"  ."roman/oires,  se presfnte  I'vne  des  belles  riuieres  qui  soil  en 
toute  la  terre,  ndmee  de  nous  Norombegue,  &=  des  Barbares  Aggoncy,  dr»  marquee 
en  quclques  Caries  marines  riuiere  grande.  II  entre  plusieurs  autres  belles 
riuieres  da.is  cesle  cy,  &"  sur  laquelle  iades  les  Fran^'ois  feirent  bastir  vn  petit 
fort,  quelque  dix  ou  douze  lieues  it  icelle,  lequel estoit  enuiron^  d'  eau  douke,  qui 
se  va  desgorger  das  icelle  :  &f  fut  nominee  ceste place  le  fort  de  Norombegue." — La 
cosmographie  vniverselle.  D'  Andre  Thevet.  A  Paris,  1575.  torn.  ii.  chap, 
iii.     fol.  iCKi"',  b. 

'  Tlie  copy  of  Mercator's  map  preserved  in  the  National  library,  in  Paris, 
which  is  entitled  "  Nova  et  aucta  otbis  ierrae  descriptio  at  usum  navigantium 
emendeti  accommodata"  measures  seventy-eight  and  a  half  inches  by  fifty 
inches.  On  this  map  is  represented  the  earth  in  piano,  the  meridians  being 
paralleled  and  the  parallels  of  latitude  straight  lines,  according  to  those 
principles  of  projection  known  as  Mercator's  projection.  Respecting  the  latter, 
he  says,  in  an  inscription  on  the  chart :  "  On  account  of  which  considerations, 
we  have  increased  gradually  the  length  of  the  degrees  of  latitude  toward  each 
pole  proportionate  to  the  increase  of  the  parallels  beyond  the  len^rth  which 
they  have  on  the  globe,  relatively  to  the  equator  : — "  Quibts  consideratis, 
gradus  lalitudinum  versus  utrumque polum  paulatim  auximus pro  incremento 
parallelorum  supra  ralionem  quam  habint  ad  acquinoctialem."  Abraham 
Ortelius,  the  emi-ent  cartographer,  speaks  of  this  map  of  Mercator's  as  "his 
never-enough-praised  universal  chart, — Sua  nunquam  satis  laudata  universalis 
tabula." 


I  ^  '  ■ 


Sa€ 


'I 


A  part 


Sdguenai 


''  Jkj^^^ 


nonam  Jndiam  nomine  j 
terra  ^uam  conquifiuit\ 


A  part  of  Gerard  Mercator's  map  of  the  world,  made  in  Duisburg  in  1569;  copied  from  "  Les 

orientales,  publics  en  fac-simile,"  par  iNj 


copied  from  "  Les  monuments  de  la  geographie  ou  recueil  d'anciennes  cartes  europeennes  et 
en  fac-simile,"  par  M.  Jomard,  Paris. 


mm 

H 

w 

nl' 

11: 

I' 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


361 


height  of  the  navigation  of  the  Grande  River.     As  it 
appears,  they  selected  a  site   for  the  building  on  the 
lonof,  low  island  lying  in  the  bay,  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river,  near  the  present  southern  limits  of  the  city 
of  Albany.     The  walls  of  the  casde  and  its  protecting 
earthworks    were   almost     completed   when   a  great 
freshet  inundated  the  island  and  damaged  the  structure 
so  much  that  the  French  abandoned  the  occupation  of 
the  island.     Jean    Alphonse   evidendy  refers  to   the 
abortive  undertaking,  when  describing  the  situation  of 
the  Indian  village  at  the  mouth  of  the  Grande  R'ver,  he 
says  :  "  North  of  it  there  is  a  bay,  in  which  is  a  small 
island  that  is  often  subject  to  storms,  [those  causing 
freshets,]  and  cannot  be  inhabited."     The  island  bore 
the  name  of  Castle  Island  for  more  than  a  century  there- 
after, but  it  Is  now  known  as  Van  Rensselaer's  Island. 
The  fact  that  die  French  had  ascended  the  Grande 
River  to  the  height  of  its  navigation  to  trade  with  the 
Indians  long  before  Henry  Hudson  explored  it,  is  cor- 
roborated by  still  stronger  testimony  than  that  already 
presented.     One  of  the  earliest  maps  representing  the 
territory  of  Nieu  Nederlandt   (New   Netherland),  or 
that  part  of  New  .France  which  the  French  had  called 
La  Terra  d'  Anorm^e  Berge,  is  the   figurative   char^ 
presented  to  their  high  mightinesses,  the  Lords  States 
General  of  the  United  Netherlands,  on  the  eleventh  01 
October,  1614,  by    a  number  of    Dutch    merchants, 
praying  for  a  special  license  to  navigate  and  traffic 
within  the  limits  of  this  part  of  North  America.'    Upon 
this  map,  made  in  1614,  are  inscribed  "curious  notes 
and  memoranda  concerning  the  natives  of  the  country, 
which  the  well-informed  discoverer  of  the  chart  inti- 

'  A  copy  of  this  chart  in  the  general  library  of  the  Statue  of  New  York,  at 
Albany,  is  entitled:  "  The  Original  Carte  Figurative,  of  which  the  above  is 
an  accurate  facsimile,  was  found  on  the  26th  of  June,  1841,  in  the  Locket-kas, 
of  the  States  General,  in  the  Royal  archives  at  the  Hague." 


if 


3^2 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


mates  were  written  by  one  of  the  Dutch  companions 
of  Henry  Hudson,  who  accompanied  the  KngUsh 
navigfator,  on  the  voyage  of  1609.'  One  of  these  ex- 
planatory notes  contains  the  undeniable  testimony  that 
the  French  were  the  discoverers  of  the  Grande  River, 
and  that  they  had  been  trading  with  the  Mohawks 
long  before  the  Half  Moon  sailed  up  the  river.  The 
pLiii  language  of  the  inscription  makes  all  explanation 
of  its  meaning  unnecessary  :  "  But  as  far  as  one  can 
understand  by  what  the  Maquaas  [Mohawks]  say  and 
shcno,  the  French  come  with  sloops  as  high  up  as  their 
country  to  trade  with  them."  ' 

Among  the  things  which  were  shown  to  the  Dutch 
explorers  by  the  friendly  Mohawks  to  confirm  what 
they  had  said  concerning  the  French,  were  the  con- 
spicuous ruins  of  the  unfinished  castle.  The  sagacious 
Hollanders,  not  unlikely  thinking  that  the  dilapidated 
building  might  be  repaired  with  little  expense,  and 
made  useful  to  them  as  a  trading  house,  should  they 
be  licensed  by  the  government  of  the  Netherlands  to 
return  there  to  trade  for  furs  with  the  Indians,  took 
measurements  of  its  walls  and  outworks.  These  memo- 
randa they  also  inscribed  on  the  map  of  New  Nether- 
land.  The  castle,  as  described  on  the  chart,  was  fifty- 
eight  feet  wide  between  the  walls,  and  built  in  the  form 
of  a  square,  surrounded  by  a  moat  eighteen  feet  wide. 

*  "  This  map,"  says  John  Romeyn  Brodhead,  the  historian,  "  is  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  mobt  interesting  memorials  we  have.  It  is  about  three 
feet  long,  and  shows,  very  minutely,  the  course  of  the  Hudson  River  from 
Manhattan  to  above  Albany,  as  well  as  a  portion  of  the  sea-coast ;  and  con- 
tains, likewise,  curious  notes  and  memoranda  about  the  neighboring  Indians, — 
the  work,  perhaps,  of  one  of  the  companions  of  Hudson  *  •  *  and  made 
within  five  years  of  the  discovery  of  our  river,  its  fidelity  of  delineation  is 
scarcely  less  remarkable  than  its  high  antiquity." — Address  of  J.  Romeyn 
Brodhead,  November  20,  1844.     Coll.  New  York  Historical  Soc.  1845.  p.  16, 

*  "  Ma  so  vele  men  heeft  connen  verstaen  uyt  i  seggen  ende  beduyen  van  de 
Maquaas  so  comen  de  Francoysen  met  sloupen  tot  bovem  aen  haer  land  met 
haerluy  handelen." 


DISCOVERIES  OF  AMERICA. 


3^3 


The  interior  building  was  thirty-six  feet  long  and 
twenty-six  wide.' 

Although  the  Dutch  explorers  never  left  any  defi- 
nite information  that  they  were  personally  the  build- 
ers of  the  fortification  on  Castle  Island,  yet  by  naming 
it  Fort  Nassau,  in  honor  of  the  stadtholder,  Maurice, 
prince  of  Orange  and  of  Nassau,  they  permitted  his- 
torians to  infer  that  they  had  constructed  it,  even  be- 
fore they  had  been  privileged  by  the  government  of 
the  Netherlands, to  occupy  the  country. 

As  late  as  the  year  1680,  the  Dutch  residents  of 
Albpny  were  unenlightened  respecting  the  nationality 
of  the  builders  of  the  fort,  some  supposing  tliat  the 
Spaniards  had  erected  it.  This  assumption  was  not 
generally  credited,  as  there  were  no  facts  known  that 
would  verify  the  presence  of  the  Spaniards  in  this 
part  of  the  country.  The  two  Labadist  missionaries, 
Jasper  Dankers  and  Peter  Sluyter,  who  visited  Albany 
in  1680,  thus  speak  of  the  fort  on  Cactle  Island,  and  of 
the  conjecture  concerning  the  people  who  had  built  it : 
"In  the  afternoon  [Sunday,  April  28th]  we  took  a 
walk  to  an  island  upon  the  end  of  which  there  is  a  fort 
built,  they  say,  by  the  Spaniards.  That  a  fort  had  been 
there  is  evident  enough  from  the  earth  thrown  up,  but 
it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Spaniards  came  so  far  in- 
land to  build  f  ^rts  when  there  are  no  monuments  of  them 
to  be  seen  on  the  sea-coasts,  where,  hovv^ever,  they 
have  been  according  to  the  tradition  of  the  Indians."  • 

'  "J^ort  van  Nassoureen  is  binnen  de  wallen  58  voeten  wydt  in  7  viercant 
de  gracht  is  wydt  18  voeten."  Fort  Nassau  is  58  feet  wide  between  the  walls 
and  built  as  a  square  ;  the  moat  is  18  feet  wide.  "  7  htijs  is  36  voeten  lanch  en 
a6  wytin  t  fort."      The  house  in  the  fort  is  36  feet  long  and  26  wide. 

'  Journal  of  a  voyage  to  New  York  and  a  tour  in  several  of  the  American 
colonies  in  1679  and  1680,  by  Jasper  Dankers  and  Peter  Sluyter  of  Wiewerd  in 
Friesland.  Translated  from  the  original  MSB.  in  the  Dutch  for  the  L^ng 
Island  Historical  Society  by  Henry  C.  Murphy.  Memoirs  of  Long  Island  Hist. 
Soc.     1867.    vol.  i.   p.  318. 


INDEX. 


i«' 


AV.aco,  Great  an<'.  Little,  107, 184. 

Aljaioa,  town,  224. 

Aborinines,  I,  l3,  19.      {Sa  Indians.) 

Abraham,  5. 

Abreu,  Capistrano  dc,  213,  220. 

Abyla,  mountain,  4. 

Abyssinia,  58. 

Ada,  228. 

Adam,  loinb  of,  57. 

Adam  of  Bremen,  40,  41. 

Adaminai,  island,  154. 

Adams,  Clement,  203. 

^/I'lihiopia,  60.  212. 

Africa.  4.   5.  59.  ^°>  61,  63,  64,  69, 

70,  73.  77.  85.  219. 
Afranius,  L.,  60. 
Agave,  249,  25a. 
Agesingue,  85. 
A^'ijoncy,  351.  359.  S'io. 
Agnaneo,  island,  221. 

Aguados,  78. 

Aguajaluco,  234. 

Aguilar,  Geronimo  de,  239,  240,  242 
267. 

Aguino,  Marcos  de,  265. 

Ajes,  129. 

Alabama,  275. 

Alaminos,  275, 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  357.  361^,  3^2.  363- 

Albuquerque,  Affonso  d',  285. 

Alderley,  Lord  Stanley  of,  295. 

Alexander  VL,  Pope,  142,  145. 

Alexandria.  59,  194. 

Alfonce,  Jan,     (See  Alphonse.) 

Alfr.igranus,  75,  76. 

Alifonsce,  Jehan,     {^See  Alphonse.) 

Aloe,  124,  136. 

Alonso  X.,  Or. 

Alphonse,  Jean,  352,  353-356.  358. 

Altars,  235. 

Alvarador,  Pedro  de,  236. 

Amalfi,  63. 

Ama^is,  2. 

Amatl,  264.  268. 

Amber,  264,  268. 

America,  name,  218,  219. 


Amerigc,  name,  2i8,  219. 

Amoreiii,  Carlo,  'JgS. 

Ampheres.  8. 

AmpoUettas,  60. 

Anaximander,  71. 

Ancon  bajo,  279. 

Andaman,  57. 

Amlrada,  Francisco  d',  300,  301. 

Andros,  island,  107. 

Angelo,  Michael,  265, 

Angels,  5. 

Anghiera,  181. 

Ango,  Jean,  298,  339. 

Ango  &  Son,  339. 

Angouleme,  319. 

Animals,  domesticated,  109,  I16,  123, 

147,  231.  268.  283. 
Animals,  wild,   8,  166,  202,  215,  268, 

308,  324- 
Anicatiye,  281. 
Aniues,  les,  346. 
Anormee    Berge,  L',    348,    349.  35°, 

351  ;  le  fort  d  359,  3t'0- 
Ancxa,  281. 
Antediluvians,  I,  6. 
Antilla,  island,  79,  84. 
Antipaler,  Civlius,  60. 
Antipodes,  88.  89. 
Antiquaries,  Royal  Soc.  of  Northern, 

23,  33.  34. 
Apianus,  Petrus,  219. 
Appalachee  Bay,  279. 
Appalachicola  Bay,  270. 
Aqueducts,  i,  10,  12,  252,  270. 
Arabian  Gulf,  60. 
Arabian  Sea,  59. 
Arambe,  281,  284. 
Arctic  Ocean,  217. 
Aristotle,  71,  332,  336-. 
Arna-Magncean  cutlection,  34. 
Arnold,  Governor  Benedict,  43. 
Arona,  i8r. 

Arrana,  Diego,  133,  I49« 
Arroba,  123. 
Arrows.     (See  Indians.) 
Arsenals,  264. 

365 


\ 


366 


INDEX. 


M 


Asher,  G.  M.,  300. 

Asia,  4,  57.   142,  153,  192,  215,  219; 

wife  of  Prometheus,  219. 
Asius,  219. 

Astrolabe,  66-6S,  79,  125,  128 
Allienxus,  198. 
Athens,  17. 
Atlantic   empire,    5,    8,    17  ;    island, 

4-ri,   80;  ocean,   early  navij^aiioii 

of.   4<    59  !    name,   7  ;    impassable, 

17,   i3,  21  ;  navigated,  72,  79,  80, 

89  ;  race,  17. 
Atlas,  7,  8. 

Atwood's  key,  107,  108. 
Aubert,  Thomas,  298,  299. 
Autochthon,  8.  • 

Avila,  Pedro  Arias  de,  229. 
Axes,  236,  237. 
Ayala,  Pedro  de,  195. 
Ayllon,   Lucas  Vasquez  de,  279,  281, 

282,  284. 
Azaes,  8. 
Azores,  67,  74,  78,  79,  140,  145,  157, 

158,  213. 

Bacallaos  or  baccallaos,  land  of,  197, 

2CX),  202,  330. 
Bachian,  island,  294. 
Bacon,  Roger,  62. 
Badajos,  congress  of,  296. 
Badakhshan,  57. 
Bahamas,  the,  107. 
Bahia  de  todos  os  Santos,  214. 
Bskelos,  name,  19S,  203. 
Balboa,  Vasco  Nunez  de,  225-228. 
Banda,  292. 

Bardsen,  Ivar,  treatise  of,  23, 
Barges  or  berges,  248,  349. 
Barrett,  William,  188. 
Barros,  Joam  de,  68. 
Bartolome,  Francisco,  240. 
Basanier,  M.,  357,  358. 
Bastidas,  Rodngro  de,  174,  225. 
Baths,  12,  266. 
Baya  Isleos,  330. 
Beamish,  North  Ludlow,  25. 
Bear,  the  Cireat  and  Little,  213. 
Bears,  199,  202. 
Beaufort,  N.  C,  310. 
Behaim,  Martin,  67,  80,  290, 
Behring's  Strait,  303,  30S. 
Behring,  Vitus,  308. 
Beimeni,  island  of,  221,  224,  278. 
Belem,  177. 

Belle  Isle,  Strait  of,  297,  345. 
Bells,  176. 

Beneventanus,  Marcus,  215. 
Benewilz,  Peter,  219. 
Berg,  Joshua  van,  74. 
Bergenroth,  G.  A,,,  187. 
Bermudas,  356. 


Bermudez,  Juan,  356. 

Bernaldez,  Andres,  I20. 

Bernardino,  Cardinal,  154. 

Berruguette,  Aionso,  265. 

Bescneghe,  212. 

Betnlem,  177. 

Bethune,  Vice-admiral,  64, 

Bible,  L,a,  61. 

Biddle,  Richard,  195. 

Bimini,  fountain  of,  122,  224 ;  island 

of,  224,  278. 
Birds,   100,    103,   104,   105,   109,  116, 

122,  123,  147,  166,  181,  203,  308. 
Bjanneyjar,  34. 

Bjarni,  voyages  of,  25-27,  37,  40. 
Block  Island,  320. 
Blood-letting,  164,  298. 
Bobadilla,  Francisco  de,  172. 
IJoemia,  Martin  of,  290. 
Bohemia,  Martin  of,  67. 
Bohio  or  Bosio,  114,  130,  133. 
lioiuca,  22 1. 

Borrecjuen,  island  of,  148,  221, 
Boulenger,  Ludovicus,  219, 
Bourbon,  Charles  de,  338. 
Boursier,  Jacques,  339. 
Bows.     {See  Indians.) 
Bradley,  Thomas,  195, 
Brahmans,  57. 
Brass,  8,  269. 
Brattahlid,  24,  28. 
Brazil,   173,   206,  207,  212,  213,  214, 

216,  220,  228,  266,  300,  352",  359  ; 

island  of,  195  ;  port  of,  175,  179. 
Brazil-wood,  216,  229,  286. 
Breidafjttrd,  25. 
Bretons,  297. 

Brevoort,  James  Carson,  343. 
Bridges,  164,  25S,  270. 
Brisa  or  Briso,  island,  320. 
Bristol,   73,    188,   189,   192,   194,  195, 

196.  197,  199, 
Britons,  297. 
Brittany,  301,  304. 
Brodhcad,  John  Romeyn,  362. 
Brown,  Rawdon,  190. 
Brunelleschi,  Alderotto,  338. 
Buil,  P'riar  Bernardo,  152,  196. 
Burma,  57. 
Bygd,  24. 

Cabo  Bajo,  330. 
Cabo  Casiiias,  175. 
Calio  de  Arenas,  330. 
Cabo  de  Hoa  Lspiran5a,  69. 
Cabo  de  Campana,  126, 
Cabo  de  Cinquin,  127. 
Cabo  de  Corrientes,  224. 
Cabode  Cuba,  125. 
Cabo  de  las  Conchas,  171. 
Cabo  de  iaa  Iliguaras,  278. 


INDEX. 


367 


Cabo  del  Elefante,  X27. 

Cabo  del  Esirella,  127. 

Cabo  del  Isles,  115. 

Cauo  del  Monte,  127. 

Cabo  del  Pico,  126. 

Cabode  Palmas,  1 18, 

Cabode  ban  Nicolas,  152. 

Cabo  de  Santa  Elena,  275,  280,  284, 

330- 
Cabo  Deseado,  292,  293, 

Cabo  Fuerte,  152. 

Cabo  [lermoso,  114. 

Cabo  Lindo,  127. 

Cabo  Santa  Cruz,  154. 

Cabo  Santa  Maria  de  la  Consolacion, 

174- 
Cabolo,    Giovanni,   his    proposals  to 
Henry  Vll.  of  Englatid  ;  sails  from 
Bristol,  i38  ;  his  voyage,  188,  189 
Prim.*  Tierra  Vista,  190  ;  island  of 
Sant  Joan,    190;    maps,    185,    191. 
192  ;  Soncino's  account  of  his  dis- 
coveries, 192-194;  his  globe,  193; 
Cabot's   second   voyage,    194.   195  '. 
described,  195,  196  :  field  of  his  dis- 
coveries. J85,  201,  210,  30ti. 
Caboto,  Ludovi':us  (Lewis),  l38. 
Caboto,  Sanclus,  188. 
Caboto,  Sebastiano,  his  voyages,  196- 
199  ;  extent  of  his  explorations,  200, 
202  ;  his  maps  and  discoveries,  20.3, 
204  ;  congress  of  Badajos,  296. 
Cabo  Tormenioso,  60,  205. 
Cabot      {Ste  Cabolo.) 
Cabrai,  I'edro  Alvarez,  206,  207. 
Cacamatzin,  prince  of,  256.  260, 
Cacao,   267  ;  liquor,   263  ;  nuts,  176, 

269. 
Cadamosto,  Luigi  da,  66,  300. 
Cadiz,  7,  60.     {See  Codes.) 
Cxsar,  calendar  of  Julius,  107. 
Caioiigas,  346. 
Calachionies,  239. 
Calicut,  206,  336. 
Calpe,  mountain,  4. 
Cam,  Diogo,  67. 
Cambahic,  57. 
Camos,  Martin,  238. 
Campeachy,  230,  238 
Canada,  345.  354.  355 
is'  ml  of,  357.  358. 
Canals,  9,  10.  13,  14.  252. 
Canary   i.-.lands,   72,   74,   79.   95.   9''. 

104,  134.  ^58.  160. 
Cai^averal,  279. 
Cannibals.     {Sft  Indians.) 
Canoes.     {See  Jndians.) 
Cano,  Sebastian  del,  295. 
Canso,  Snait  of,  201. 
Cantino,  Alberto,  211. 
Capac,  289. 


river  of,  3!17  ; 


Cap  de  la  Franciscane,  354. 

Cape  Bojador,  64,  66,  X45. 

Cape  lirelon,   342,  351,  354.  355- 

Cape  Breton  Island,  191,  201,  297. 

Cape  Briton.     {See  Cape  Breton.) 

Cape  Buona  Vista,  297. 

Cape  Catticara,  293. 

Cape  Charles,  314. 

Cape  Comorin,  294. 

Cape  de  Bertoni.     {See  Cape  Breton.) 

Cape  de  Nao,  63,  64. 

C.  de  S.  Maria,  316,  319. 

Cape  Fear,  306, 

Cape  Henry,  314. 

Cape  Lookout,  310. 

Cape  Nedduck,  329, 

Cape  North,  201. 

Cape  of  England,  185,  201. 

Cape  of  Florida,  224. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  69,  85,  205,  323- 

Cape  of  Nonmibegue,  354,  355. 

Cape  of  St.  John,  354. 

Cape  of  St.  Mary,  316,  319. 

Cape  of  the  Bretons,  297.      {See  Cape 

Breton.) 
Cape  of  the  Franciscan,  354. 
Cape  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  2S9. 
Cape  of  the  Virgins,  289,  292. 
Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  308. 
Cape  Rus,  297. 
Cape  Ray,  201. 

Cape  St.  Augustine,  212,  229,  2b6. 
Cape  St.  Roque,  228. 
Cape  St.  Vincent,  77,  84. 
Cape  Verd,  74.  78. 
Cape  Verd   Islands,   72,  74,  75.  86, 

145,  146,  168. 
Caradoc  of  Llancarvan,  43. 
Caravels,  96,  180. 
Caria.  sierras  of,  215. 
Cariay,  17S. 
Caribbees,  T48. 
Caribbean  Islands,  174. 
Caribi,  160. 
Caris,  island  of,  135. 
Caiixagusignanin,  281. 
Carli  Fernando,  302,  335. 
Ciuli  Francisco,  338. 
Carolinas,  archipelago,  85. 
Carpets,  260.  :  •   ': 

Carreira,  Visconde  da,  64. 
Carroll.  B.  R.,  309. 
Carthagena,  Juan  de,  289. 
Carthaginian  merchants,  79 
earlier,  Jacques,  42,  344,  345.  352" 
Cartier,  John,  195. 
Carvajal,  Alonzo  Sanchez  de,  152. 
Casada,  Caspar  de,  289.  292. 
Casas,    Bartolome  d>.  las,   107,    iiS, 

126. 
Caspian  Sea,  75.  334- 


! 


368 


INDEX. 


,1 


n 


Cassavr.,  242. 

Cassia,  213,  2l6. 

Caslellanos  de  Oro,  250. 

Castilblanco,  250. 

Castilla  del  Oro,  183. 

Castle  Island,  361,  362,  363. 

Cathay,   51,    58,   72.  74,   82,  84,  I18, 

125,   174,   175,   178,   180,  182,  186, 

188,  199,  201,  205,  207,  284,  297, 

301,  306,  332,  336. 
Cat  Island,  107,  108. 
Cattigara,  227. 
Caunaboa,  149,  156. 
Causeways,  256,  257,  258,  270. 
Cautio,  223. 
Cavalcanti,  Guido,  62. 
Cavo  de  Inglaterra,  185,  201. 
Cazabi,  164. 

Cazadilla,  Diego  Ortiz  de,  86. 
Celer,  Q.  Metellus,  Go. 
Cemies,  154,  155. 
Cempoalla,  249. 
Ceuta,  63. 
Ceylon,  57. 
Chabot  Philippe,  339. 
Chalchihuis  stones,  251,  259,  265. 
Champlain,  iiamuel  de,  68,  347,  348. 
Champoion,  230,  233. 
Chapultepec,  252,  270. 
Charles  V.,  of  Spain,   191,    199,  240, 

249. 
Charles's  wain,  102. 
Charybdis,  349. 
Chehkiang,  83, 
Chersonesus  aurea,  226.  227, 
Chesajieake  Bay,  314,  343. 
Chiahuitzla,  249.  • 

Chicora,  280,  281,  282. 
Chila,  277. 

China,  55.  57,  74,  75,  82,  84. 
Cholula,  254. 
Churchhill,   collections  of  A.  and  J., 

.71. 
Cibao,  mines  of,  150. 
Cimbri,  334. 
Cinnamon,  345. 
Cintra,  Fedro  de,  66. 
Cipango,  84,  204,  III,  114,  115,  116, 

193- 
Circumnaviqalion  of  the  earth,  295. 
Claude,  wife  of  Fr.mcis  I,  320. 
Claude  or  Claudia,  island,  320. 
Cleasl;y,  Rieliard,  33. 
Cleito,  7,  II. 
Clement  IV.,  Pope,  52. 
Climates,  166,  299,  336. 
Cloves.  294,  345. 
Cocayo,  28 1. 
Cocca,  Anionia,  289. 
Cochin  China,  57. 
Codfi.->li,  198,  202,  203. 


Coelho  Goncalo,  215. 

Coeiho  Nicolas,  206. 

Cogswell,  Joseph  G.,  307. 

Cohoes,  y    Y.,  351. 

Cojohuacan,  258,  274,  prince  of,  260. 

Colba,  114. 

Colibre,  135. 

Coligni,  Admiral  Gaspard  de,  340. 

Coloma,  Juan  de,  93. 

Colombo,  Cristoforo.  (See  Christo- 
pher  Columbus.) 

Colombo,  Dominico,  70. 

Colombo,  Fernando.  {See  Ferdinand 
Columbus.) 

Colon,  Cristobal.  (5^^  Christopher 
Columbus. ) 

Colon,  Diego.    {See  Diego  Columbus.) 

Colon,  Luis,  71 

Columbus,  *3ar'.    c   le,  86,  87,  172. 

Columbus  ij  -  ^,  her,  birthplace, 
70 ;  parents,  70 ;  sea-faring,  72, 
73 !  geographical  knowledge,  74- 
80  ;  correspondence  with  Toscan- 
elli,  80 ;  proposals  to  King  'John 
II.,  of  Portugal,  85;  sends  his 
brother  to  England,  86 ;  goes  to 
Spain,  87  ;  his  project  discussed  at 
Salamanca,  87-90  ;  its  considera- 
tion postponed  by  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  90 ;  intends  to  go  to 
France,  90 ;  befriended  by  Friar 
Juan  Perez,  90,  91  ;  another  con- 
ference, 91  ;  unfavorable  decision, 
91 ;  Luis  de  Santangel's  help,  92  ; 
Columbus  commissioned,  93-95  ; 
intends  to  make  a  sea-chart,  96  ; 
sails  from  Palos,  96:  l;^eps  his 
reckoning  short,  98'  .  -i.-i-ves  the 
variations  of  the  m.  .  '■'  "iedle, 
98,  99  ;    conduct  of  ■'  . ,  100- 

102;    discovers    isiur.  ''■   ana- 

hana,  107  ;  his  landing,  ■  ,  the 
people,  108-110  ;  calls  ti.c  .dand 
San  Salvador,  iii  ;  discovers  the 
islands  of  .Snnta  Maria  de  la  Con- 
cepcion,  Fernandina,  Isabela,  and 
Cuba,  113-116;  believes  he  has 
reached  Asia,  120  ;  sends  embassa- 
dors to  the  Grand  Khai  ?f  Cathay, 
120;  productions  of  Cuba,  121; 
natives,  122,  123;  returns  from  the 
north,  124  ;  his  high  latitudes,  126  ; 
explores  the  coast  of  Espaflola  127, 
I?!*  ;  its  natives  ])roductions,  and 
soil,  128-130;  LniiUls  Villa  de  la 
Navidad,  132,  133  ;  sails  for 
Spain,  135 ;  the  voyage,  137  ; 
anchors  in  the  Tagiis,  140  ;  visits 
the  king  o*  Portugal,  141  ;  arrives 
at  Palos,  141;  celebration  uf  his  dis- 
coveries, 142-144. 


INDEX. 


369 


Columbus's  second  voyage,  146  ;  dis- 
covers  the  islands  of  Dominica, 
Marigalaiue,  Saiua  Maria  de  Guad- 
alupe, 146,  147 ;  his  sea-chart, 
143  ;  arrives  at  Villa  de  la  Navidad, 
143 ;  builds  the  town  of  Isabeia 
and  castle  of  San  Tomas,  150,  151  , 
appoints  a  council,  152  ;  coasts 
Cuba,  152;  believes  it  to  be  Asia, 
153  ;  sails  for  Spain,  his  compasses, 
157  ;  his  pilots,  158  ;  arrives  at 
Cadiz,  159  ;  goes  to  Burgos,  159  ; 
his  privileges  prejudiced,  167. 

CoIumUus's  third  voyage,  168  ;  dis- 
covers the  island  of  Trinidad,  169; 
sees  the  continent,  169  ;  1  ierra  de 
Gracia,  170 ;  enters  the  Gulf  of 
Paria,  171  ;  map  of  the  country, 
171  ;  reaches  Espaflola,  172  ;  sent 
in  chains  to  Srvain,  172. 

Columlius's  fo'irlh  voyage,  174;  dis- 
■zz-^rs  the  'sland  of  Mantinino,  175; 
reaches  L^spaflola,  175  ;  sails  to  the 
Guanaia  islands,  175  ;  captures  a 
canoe  latlen  with  Indian  commodi- 
tie-i,  175  ;  explores  the  coast  of 
Veragua,  177-187,  226,  227  ;  sails 
to  Jamaica,  i3o;  returns  to  Spain, 
182  ;  dies  at  Valladolid,  1S2  ;  his 
map,  182,  183,  300. 

Coliini)us,  Diego,  87,  90,  152,  168. 

Columbus,  P'erdinanil,  70,  71,   168. 

Comargo,  277,  278. 

Coml)ahee  River,  284. 

Comcgre,  225. 

Compass.     {See  J\/ariner's  compass^ 

Conchillos,  Lopez  de,  276. 

Connecticut,  253,   354  ;  river,  354, 

Contarina,  Gasparo,  199. 

Copper,  8,  10,  iir,  176,  178,  199, 
23^'.  237,  269.   322,   328. 

Coqiiihacoa,  Gulf  of,  164. 

Cordoba,  Francisco  Hernando  de, 
229.   233,   238,   278. 

Corn,  283. 

Coronel,  I'edro  Fernandez,  152. 

Correa,  Pedro,  77. 

Cortereal,  (Ja^par,  207-21 1. 

Cortereal,  fo.lo  Vnz,  207 

Cortereal  Miguel,  207,   20S,  21 1. 

Cortes,  Hernando.  Diego  Velasquez 
appoints  him  captain-general,  237  ; 
s.uls  to  the  island  of  Cnzumel,  238  ; 
receives  embassailor-;  from  Monte- 
zuma, 239  ;  the  presents,  243-2  }5  ; 
ex|)l()res  the  coast  of  Mexico,  247  ; 
builds  Villa  Rica  de  Vera  Ciuz, 
249  ;  begins  his  march  toward  the 
ciiy  of  .VIexico,  249;  engagements 
with  the  Tlascallans,  250;  enters 
Tlascalla,    351  ;    marches    to  Cho- 


lula,  253  ;  escorted  into  the  city  of 
Mexico  by  Montezuma,  259-261  ; 
visits  the  market-place  and  the  tem- 
ple of  Huilzilopochili,  267-272 ; 
beseiges  the  city,  273  ;  sends  pre- 
sents to  the  emperor,  274. 

Corvea,  Gaspar,  206. 

Corvo,  island,  100,  158. 

Cosa,  Juan  de  la,  173,  183,  184,  :85, 
201. 

Cosco,  Leander  de,  142. 

Cotasllan,  239,   266. 

Cotta,  Joannes,  215. 

Cotton,  109,  no,  III,  119,121,  123, 
124,  136,  148,   176,    178,  265,  284. 

Cotys,  219. 

Coyba,  226. 

Cozumel,  238,  239. 

Crato,  prior  of,  141. 

Crawford  and  Balcarres,  count  of,  350. 

Critias,  or  the  Atlantic,  3. 

Croesus,  2. 

Crooked  Island,  107. 

CrcEses,  230. 

Cruz,  Juan  de  la,  265. 

Cuba,  114,  115,  116,  ri8,  126,  127, 
128,  152,  153,  154,  184,  197,  202, 
216,  232. 

Cuitlahuac,  prince  of,  260. 

Cuitlahuatzin,  270. 

Culba,  232.  ^^  ■ 

Culhua,  248. 

Culua,  235. 

Cusa,  Cardinal  Nicolaus  de,  80. 

Dagaghiano,  Pier  Francisco,  338. 

Dagmala-stad,  31-33. 

Daiha,  282.  ^  ,     ;.    . 

Damascus,  59. 

Dankers,  Jasper,  363. 

Darien,  isthmus,    174,   177,  225,  2:6, 

227,  228,  315,  342. 
Davila,  Pedrarias,  228. 
Davis,  Henry,  19. 
Davis's  Strait,  318. 

Declination,  line  of,  98,  99,  102,  158. 
De  Costa,  B    F.,  3J3. 
Digree,  measures  of,  76,  83,  98. 
Delaware  Bay,  315. 
Demons,  217,  288. 
Demorgorjijon,  198. 
Denis,  Jean,  298. 
Denmark,  334. 

Desmr.rquets,  Jean  Anfoine,  299. 
Despinolles,  Pierre,  339. 
Dipprepes,  8.  f 

Dias,  Hartholomeu,  69,  205. 
Diaz,  Bernal,  21,  229;  Father  Juan, 

240. 
Diepa  or  Dieppe,  297,  298,  307,  334, 

351.  352- 


3/0 


INDEX. 


•r 


Dighton  rock,  42. 

Disraeli,  350. 

Dods,  Marcus,  89. 

Dogs,  123,  268. 

Dominica,  island  of,  146. 

Dofia  Marina,  240,  242,  259,  260,  261, 

267. 
Drake,  Sir  Francis,  292. 
Drogio,  i  land  of,  47,  40. 
Ducats,  244,  245 
Duero,  Andres  de,  237. 
Duharhe,  281,  283. 
Duisburg,  360. 
Dwarfs,  263, 

Eannes,  Gil,  65. 

Eannes  de  Azurara,  Gomes,  64. 

Earth,  globular  form  of,  71,  88,  193; 
circumference  of,  74,  75,  83;  circum- 
navigation of,  295. 

East  Cape,  308. 

East  Indies,  145. 

East  River,  317. 

Eden,  Richard,  igg. 

Egypt,  priests  of,  2,  3,  2i ;  invaded, 
5,  8  ;  gods  rule  in,  6, 15  ;  stars  seen  i 
in,  72,  j 

Egyptians,  chroniclers,  2,  4,  15  ; 
chronology  of,  17  ;  shins  of,  18  ; 
hermetic  books  of,  20. 

Eider-ducks,  35. 

Kkallumiut,  30. 

Elasippus,  3. 

El  Crespello,  265. 

Elephants,  8,  9. 

El  Gran  Cairo,  229. 

El  Marien,  249. 

Elohim,  6. 

Emeralds,  244. 

Emm£...ael,  king  of  Portugal,  207, 
2ri. 

England,  73,  74,  186,  188. 

Eric,  the  Red,  23,  24 ;  the  wanderer, 

25. 
Escovedo,  Rodrigo  de,  108,  133,  149. 
Espaftola,  104,  12S,  130,  133, 135, 148, 

154,  159,  172,  175,  179,  182,  184. 
Espiritu   Santo,   Rio  del,  278  ;    Baya 

del,  279. 
Estoiilana,  46,  49,  50. 
Estrithson,  Sveyn,  king  of  Denmark, 

40. 
Ethiopia,  60,  213. 
Eudaemon,  8. 
Eudoxus,  60. 
Euenor,  6,  7, 
Eugene  IV.,  Pope,  83, 
Eumelus,  7. 
Europa,  219. 
Europe,  4,  5,  219. 
Eusebius,  299,  345. 


Euthydemus,  198. 
Euxine  Sea,  52. 

Evangelista,  island  of,  153,  154. 
Everett,  E.,  34. 
Eyktar-stad,  31-33. 
Eynoult,  Guillaume,  340. 
Ezcapuzalco,  265. 

Fabian,  Robert,  197. 

Faroe  islands,  22,  23. 

Fayal,  island  of,  67,  68. 

Ferdinand,  king  of  Spain,  70,  72, 14?, 

143.   144.   159.   160,   168,  172,  1S7, 

195,  216. 
Fernandina,  113. 
Fish,  ig8,  202,  2og,  241. 
Fitch,  John,   359. 
Flateyensis,  codex,  25. 
Flato,  25,  book  of,  25. 
Floki,  the  viking,  23. 
Flores  island,  78. 
Florida,  124,  126,  200,  223-225,  275, 

276,  277.   278,   279,  307,  330,  342, 

344,  351,  35=.  357,  358. 
Flowers,  g,   1:5,   116,  251,   266,   30g, 

314. 
Fonseca,  Juan  Rodriguez  de,  168,  276. 
Fornari,  Baltano  de,  71, 
Fort  Caroline,  357. 
Fort  Nassau,  363. 

Fortunate  Islands.  74,  75,  331,  332. 
Foster,  Andrew,  isg. 
Fowls,  268,  283. 
Fox,  G.  v.,  98,  107,  108. 
Francis  I.,  king  of  Piance,  300,  301, 

319.  320,  338,  344.  351.  352,  357. 

358. 
Franccsca,  307,  330,  351. 
Frederic  III.  of  Denmark,  25,  34. 
Freydis,  39. 
Frisland,  island  of,  45,  46,  49,  50,  73; 

story  of  a  fisherman  of,  44,  46-50. 
Frizeland,  73. 
Fruits,  9,  115,  116,  147,  166,  171,  241, 

263.  324.  352. 
Fucus  natans,  99,  100. 
I'uenlerabia,  135,  183,  227. 
Fuerteventura,  island  of,  97, 
Fundv,  Ray  of,  201. 
Furdustrandir,  35,  41. 

Gadeira,  7, 

Gadeirica,  7. 

Galleys,  21. 

Galicia,  135,  14T. 

Gallia  Nova,  343. 

Galvano,  Antonio,  64,  144,  aoo. 

Gnma,  Vasco  da,  205,  206. 

Gamart  of  Rouen,  298. 

Gamlason,  Thorhall,  34. 

Gamas,  Gulf  of,  357,  358. 


INDEX. 


371 


Ganges,  142,  154,  226. 

Gardens,  12,  256,  257,  266. 

Garay,   Francisco  de,  275,  278. 

Gastaldi,  Giacomo  de,  326,  356. 

Gaul,  61. 

Georgia,  State  of,  279. 

Germany,  61. 

Giants,  6,  252,  253,  274,  282,  287. 

Gilbert,  Sir  Humphrey,  200,  20i. 

Ginnungagap,  41. 

Gioja,  Flavia,  63. 

Godeffroy,  Adam,  340. 

Gods,  divide  the  earth,  5  ;  marry  the 

daughters  of  man,  5  ;  rule  in  Egypt, 

6,  15  ;  half-gods,  6. 
Goes,  Oamiao  de,  208. 
Golfo  de  las  Flechas,  134,  .  35. 
Golfo  de  las  Perlas,  171. 
Golfo  Duke,  214 
Gold,  III,  115,  116,   117,   132,   13'j, 

149,  151,  167,  178,  179,  216,  226, 

229,  234,  236,  243,  251,  265,  269, 

274.     ' 

Gomara,  Francisco  Lopez  de,  199, 
200. 

G  jmera,  island  of,  97,  99. 

Gomez,  Estevan,  291,  296. 

Gonjalves,  Andre,  213. 

Graah,  Captain  W.  A.    30,  31. 

Gracia,  Tierra  ue,  170. 

Greenland,  from  Iceland,  22 ;  discov- 
ered, 24  ;  eastern  distr'ot  in,  25  ; 
sea  of,  26,  216,  217;  from  New- 
foundland, 28. 

Grain,  23,  176,  178,  268,  283,  325. 

Grand  Canary,  97. 

Grande  River,  318,  319,  320,  346,  348, 

351.  353.  356.  358,  359.  360. 
Grand  Khan  of  Calhay,  52,  54,  55,  56, 
58,  82.  94,  115,  117,  :i8,  120,  124, 

153.  189. 
Grand  Scarp,  the,  348. 
Grand  Turk  Island,  78. 
Grapes,  42,  151,  513. 
Gratiosa,  island,  107. 
Great  Exuma  Island,  107. 
Greco,  wind,  i6t. 
Greece,  invasion  of,  5, 
Greelts,  early  civilization  of  the,  4. 
Greene,  G.  W.,  302. 
Greenhalgh.  VVentwort'i,  346. 
Gregory    XIII.,    calendar    of    Pope, 

107. 
Grijaiva,  Juan  de,  233.  237,  247,  278. 
Grimolfson,  Bjarni,  34. 
Groote  River,  318,  319,  346. 
Guacanagari,  149. 
Guacasualco  River,  236. 
Guacaya,  281,  284. 
Guadalupe,  147,  148,  157. 
Gualdape,  280. 


Guanaco,  the,  287, 
Guanahani,  the  island,  107. 
Guanaia  islands,  175,  214. 
Guatemala,  229. 
Guazpaltepec,  239.  ^ 

Gudrid,  40. 

Guerrero,  Gonzalo,  239. 
Guinea,  64,  67,  74,  81,  85,  88,  352. 
Guisay,  115,  120.     {See  Quinsay.) 
Gulf  of  Castles,  267. 
Gulf  of  Coquibacoa,  164. 
Gulf  of  Gamas,  357,  358. 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  352. 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  297. 
Gulf  of  Venezuela,  164. 
Gulf  Stream,  the,  223. 
Gunnbjorn,  the  Norwegian,  23  ;  sker- 
ries, 24. 
Gutierrez,  Pedro,  107,  133,  149. 
Guyneth,  Madoc,  43  ;  Owen,  43,  44. 
Guyot,  61. 

Habacoa,  184. 

Hackit,  Thomas,  344. 

Haki,  35. 

Hakluyt,  Richard,  42,  44, 64,  203,  204, 

357. 
Hakon,  Jonn,  son  of  25. 
Half  Moon,  362. 
Hamacas,  147,  156. 
Hammocks,  147,    56,  163,  286. 
Hangchau,  83. 
i  I  anno,  60. 
Harlem  River,  353. 
Harrisse,  Henry,  160,  184. 
Hatchets,  176. 

Hauslab,  M.  le  general  de,  220. 
Havannah,  the,  249, 
Hawks,  22, 
Hayti,  128,  167. 
llekja,  35. 
Hell-Gate,  353. 
Helluland,  28,  34,  41,  4?. 
Henderson,  Ebenezer,  23. 
Henry,  prince  of  Portugal,  f  3,  64,  65, 

66,  67,  70,  79. 
Henry  II.  of  France,  350. 
Henry  VIL,    king  of   England,   86, 

186,  187,   192,  194,  195,  196,  197, 

199,  2(X),  201  ;  VIII..  315,  341. 
Herbs,  115,  147,  173,  174,  178. 
Hercules,  pillars  of,  4,  7,  17,  18,  21, 

59,  60.  72,  197,  198. 
Herjulf,  24. 
Ilerjulfsnes,  24,  25, 
Herodotus,  2,  59. 
Heroes,  6. 
Herrera  y   Tordesillas,  Antonio  de, 

215. 
Hetland,  22. 
Hieroglyphics,  l,  177,  249. 


\  I 


372 


INDEX. 


a 


h 


im 


Hitha,  283. 

Hochelaga,  345  ;  river  of,  354,  356. 

Hojeda,  Aloiizo  de,  150,  173,  183. 

Holy  Sepulchre,  133. 

lloiulunis.  l!ay  of,  175,  314. 

Honfleur,  298. 

Hop,  37,  40. 

Horns,  23. 

Horses,  12. 

Huag,  281. 

Hudson,  Henry,  318,  361,  362. 

Hudson  River,  316,  317,318,  319,  269 
-272,  353.  357.  362. 

Huexotzinco,  258. 

Huitzilopochtli,  idol,  247  ;  temple  of, 
267. 

Humboldt,  Fr'jdrich  Heinrich  Alex- 
ander von,  44,  56,  57,  183, 

Hvarf,  24. 

Hvidserk,  24,  25. 

Hylacomylus,  21S. 

Iberian  peninsula,  84. 

Ibernia,  192,  194. 

Icaria,  49. 

Iceland,  22,  23,  24,  25,  45,  I93,  I99, 
(SiY  Island.) 

Ignami,   164. 

Incense,  235. 

India,  57,  61,  69,  70,  74,  75,  77,  181, 
206. 

Indian  Ocean,  314. 

Indians  {See  also  Afattattts,  Paesani, 
Paysans,  Wild  Men,  [Vilden),  an- 
cestors, 252,  253  ;  axes,  236,  237, 
324  ;  ball-playeis,  284  ;  bows  and 
arrows,  134,  136,  162,  202,  2tO, 
230,  252,  265,  2S7,  2S8,  299,  312, 
324.  355  ;  burial,  156,  163  ;  ca- 
ciques, 129,  240,  253,  259,  267 ; 
cannibals,  135,  148,  164,  216  ;  ca- 
noes, no,  119,  135,  164,  165,  175, 
253,  299,  312,  313,  324  ;  carpenters, 
266  ;  carpets,  260;  cities,  251,  254, 
256,  258,  270;  clothing,  123,  170, 
176,  178,  2or,  202,  2og,  216,  230, 
234,  235,  243,  280.  284,  286,  287, 
283,  298,  306,  312,  317,  321,  322, 
328,  356;  clubs,  162,  202;  color,  123, 
129,  130,  161,  169,  209,  281,  282, 
234,  287,  299.  307,  311,  312,  32r  ; 
concubines,  262,  266  ;  courts,  268 ; 
cuirasses,  230,  252,  263  ;  darts, 
202;  dwellings,  I16,  117,  130,  163, 
164,  170.  209,  225,  286,  288,  314, 
324,  325  ;  edifices,  230,  256,  257, 
258,  260,  261,  272;  enchanters,  178, 
217  ;  eyes,  tio,  307,  322  ;  fabrics, 
170,  176,  178,  234,  241,  243, 
244,  250,  254.  256,  265,  266,  267  ; 
faces,   no,   287,    307,    311,    321  ; 


far  ■,  245  ;  farmer-generals,  239  ; 
feather-work,  216,  230,  241,  245, 
259;  tishing-hooks,  116,  17S  ;  fish- 
ing-ncts,  116,  178,  189;  flags,  230 
food,  129,  162,  164,  176,  201,  232 
234,  241,  262.  364,  268,  288,  299, 
312,  325,  328;  friendliness,  108, 
29S,  306,  310,  311,  316,  317,  321, 
322,  352,  355  ;  furniture,  244,  260, 
2f)8  ;  giants,  252,  253,  282,  287  ; 
goldsmiths,  265;  hair,  109,  no, 
136,  161,  170,  2S1,  282,  283,  286, 
287,  288,  299,  307,  321,  322  ;  ham- 
mocks, 147,  156,  163,  2fc6  ;  helmets, 
243,  265;  hieroglyphics,  i,  177, 
249;  idols.  118,  154,  155,  229,  230, 
232.  234,  235,  247,  270,  271.  272  ; 
implements,  176,  189,  236,  237, 
324;  javelins,  109,  no,  134;  kid- 
naped, 279,  280,  281;  kings,  216, 
323  ;  knives,  268  ;  lances,  16:,  :.02, 
230,  23T,  252,  264  ;  language,  120, 
162,  201,  210,  299,  355,  356  ;  lapi- 
daries,  265;  liquors,  263;  longevity, 
216  ;  magistrates,  130  ;  markets, 
267,  271  ;  masks,  129  ;  medicine, 
164,  216,  288,  325  ;  merchandize. 
267,    268  ;    mirrors,    244  ;    money, 

176,  269  ;  morions,  265  ;  mu>ical 
instruments,  230,  272  ;  name,  345  ; 
oars,  no,  324;  occupation,  12,  13, 
14,  15,  178,  264,  265,  266,  267, 
268;  ornaments,  n,  119,  n'j,  170, 
225,229,  234,  ?3J,  241,  '43.  244. 
248,  250,  267,  2"4,  287,  321,  322, 
328;  palaces,  22  j,  256,  2t6;  paper- 
makers,  252,  2(4;  painters,  242, 
265  ;  painted  fa::es,  109,  130,  210, 
230,  286,  287,  288.  299,  323 ;  paint- 
ings, 230,  2£2  ;  phkboioniy  prac- 
tised, 164,  288  ;  pikes,  252,  264  ; 
pipes,  264 ;  plantations.  230,  257  ; 
police-system,  267  ;  priests,  235, 
269,  283  ;  public  work>.  g,  10,  252, 
256,  257,  258,  270;  religion,  no, 
ng.  123,  154,  155,  156,  216,  229, 
286,  288,  299,  230,  33t,  356  ;  sac- 
rificcs,  16.  235,  239,  247,  254.  2/u- 
272  ;    sculptors,     265  ;    sculptures, 

177,  178,  229,  230;  sepulchre,  178; 
servants,  264  ;  shields,  230,  234, 
243,  252,  264,  265;  shoes,  244,  288; 
silversmiths,  265  ;  slaves,  no,  136, 
167,  210,  225,  267,  269  ;  slings, 
202,  230,  252  ;  snares,  189,  324  ; 
songs,  284,  325;  spinners,  109,  no; 
stature,  log,  no.  129,  i6i,  209, 
307.  3".  321,  356;  stone-cutters, 
266;  superstitions,  156;  swords, 
176,  230,  231.  252,  2A4  ;  tanners. 
268;  temples,  11,  12,  229,  230,  234, 


I  i| 


INDEX. 


373 


235,  254,  260,  270,  271  ;  theatres, 
266;  thread,  267,  284,  311;  to- 
bacco,  121,  264,  268 ;  traditions, 
252,  284,  363  ;  traffic,  13,  109,  no, 
in,  129,  174,  298,  328  ;  utensils, 
162,  262  ;  villages.  13,  112,  117, 
122,  130  ;  wares,  263,  267,  268,269  ; 
warlike,  355  ;  warriors,  I2,  14,  15, 
230,  231,  251,252;  weaving,  266; 
wines,  171,  178  ;  wives,  162,  262, 
323  ;  women,  122,  129,  162,  171, 
262,  281,  284,  288,  311,  312,  322. 

Indies,  81,  134    159,  187. 

Infante  Kortuwa,  144. 

Insubria,  283, 

Inzignanin,  284. 

Ilhas  Dezertas,  304. 

Ireland,  192,  194,  196 ;  island  of, 
356.     {See  Ibemia.) 

Isabela,  island  of,  113,  115  ;  town  of, 
150.  154,  156,  157. 

Isabella,  queen  of  Spain,  72,  91,  92, 
93,  142,  158,  159,  167,  168,  172, 
187,  195. 

Isla  Blanca,  234. 

Isla  de  las  Bocas,  179. 

Island,  23,  55.     (See  Iceland.) 

Isla  Rica,  228. 

Isla  Santa,  169. 

Isole  de  Ladroni,  294. 

Isole  Sfortunato,  292. 

Ithaca,  5%. 

Iti,  island  of,  167. 

luca,  164. 

lucatan,  215.     {See  Yucatan.) 

Iztapalapan,  256,  270. 

Jackals,  268. 
acobus,  61. 
Jacquet,  56. 

Jamaica,  133,  152, 154,  180,  182. 
Japan,  57,  84,  in. 
Java,  57,  294. 

Jerez  of  Ayamonte,  Rodrigo  de,  120. 
Jerusalem,  conquest  of,  133. 
Jesters,  263. 
John  I,  king  of  Portugal,  63  ;  II,.  67, 

69,  85  ;  III.,  300,  301, 
Jomard,  M.,  185. 
Jonas,  Arngrim,  33. 
Jones,  Inigo,  43. 
Jordan  River,  280,  284. 
Joseph,  Master,  67. 
Juan,  Prince,  70,  159,  168. 
Juana,  island,  127,  182. 
Juanillo,  232. 
Juet,  Robert,  319. 

Karlsefne,  Snorro,  40  ;  Thoriinn,  34, 

36.  37.  38,  39.  40. 
Kelly,  Patrick,  237. 


Kennebec  River,  354. 

Kettell,  Samuel,  in,  126. 

Khotan,  57. 

Kingsborough,  collection  of  Lord,  2X. 

Kialarnes,  35. 

Klaprolh,  56. 

Knoll,  Conrad,  218. 

La  Baya  del  Rio,  330. 

Labrador,  cape  of,  199  ;  land  of,  200, 

202,  345. 
La  Boca  de  la  Drago,    171  ;  Sierpe, 

171  ;  de  Terminos,  234, 
La  Cruz,  279. 
Lactantius,  89,  90. 
La  Culata,  279. 
Ladrone  islands,  294. 
Laet,  Johannes  de,  319,  346,  347. 
La  Isla  de  Trinidad,  168,  169,  170. 
Lake  Maggiore,  181. 
Lamb,  Mrs.  Martha  J.,  359. 
Land  of  Ayllon,  284. 
Land  of  Codfish,  197.  200,  202,  207. 
Land  of  Cortereal,  208. 
Land  of  Fire,  334. 
Land  of  Grace,  170. 
Land  of  Pearls,  173. 
Land  of  Red  wood,  286. 
Land  of  the  Farmer,  200. 
Land  of  the  Grand  Scarp,  349-351. 
Land  of  the  Holy  Cross,  287. 
Land  of  the  Palisades,  349. 
La  Nouvelle  France,  330. 
Lanzarote,  island,  97. 
Lares,  Almador  de,  237. 
La  Ribida,  87,  90  91. 
Laos,  57. 
Lapidaries,  265. 
La  Plata,  port  of,  279. 
Lappenburg,  M.,  41.. 
Lariab,  country  of,  166. 
Las  Barbas,  islands,  180. 
Las  Islas  Desdichados,  292. 
Lateens,  180. 
Lathyrus,  60. 
Latini,  Brunetto,  6s. 
Latitude,  66-68 
Laudonni^re,  Rene  Goulaine  de,  351, 

367. 
Leagues,  land,  83,  305  ;  sea,  83,  305, 

329.  331. 
Leather,  243. 
Leicester,  earl  of,  350. 
Leif,  son  of  Eric  the  Red,  25,  27,  30, 

35.  42. 
Lelewel,  Joachim,  182. 
Lemos,  Gaspar  de,  207 
Lenormant,  Frangois,  15. 
Leo  X.  Pope,  181. 
Leon,  Juan  Ponce  de,  221,  223-225, 

378. 


INDFX. 


374 

Lester.  C.  Edwards.  159- 

Leucippe,  I7- 

Levante.  wind.  iM. 

Lepe.  Diego  de.  174- 

Libeccio.  wind,  ibl. 

Libya,  4.  5.  59^  ^o  ^^^  2^9-  g^ 

Line  of  ^l«'=^'"f  •?:"'« ^i\f  206. 
Line  of  demarkaticn,  I45.  ^"i 

Lings,  203. 

Lions.  20».  5. 

Liquors.  I7t.  176. 178. 
Lisbon,  83.  84- 
Littr^.  E.,  246. 
Liverpool,  84. 
Llwvd.  Humphry,  43« 
Se  Michael.  79.  3l5. 
tockhart.  John  Ingr.m.  233- 
London   186.  194.  J97. 

V  '"S^M^nd  N^Y..  316.  317.  319.  320, 
V°"S\ilnd\VesV  Indies.  107.  356- 
Sl:lafdSo:nd.3X7.353.355. 

tSofsavoy.  3»o.  35X.  352.  357 

358- 
Louisiana.  275- 
Luisa,  island  of.  32°- 

Luxan,  Juande.  I5»- 
Lynna,  Nicholas  de  217. 
Lynx.  322,  324.  32^- 

Machian,  island.  294. 
Madagascar,  58- 
Madeira,  island.  78,  304^ 
Madoc,  Guyneth,  43.  44. 

Maestrale,  w'"^' \^^- 

2^7-    .,      ,    Treat  and  Little,  107- 
Magua,  island  Great  an 

Maguey,  plant,  252  .  roo  , 
Maenussen,  Arne,  34- 
Saine.  327.  328.  329- 
Mainwaring,  350-  .3 

MaioUo.  y.s-"te  de   307.  34 
Maize,  176. 176.  230,  234- 
Major,  Richard  Henry,  49. 

Malincha,  261. 
Malpiero,  Gasparo  53- 
Malvas,  port  of,  208. 
Mames,  121,  I23- 
Mamre,  6. 


MandeviUe,  Sir  John,  58.  76. 
rnfnts^V'&n^a^s.  345.  346.  347. 

Manants  Island,  359- 

Manhattan,  362. 

KS'.o":'34t  wand  of,  347-.  river 

Mantiniuo.  island,  175- 
Kues!or  Maquaas,  347.  362. 

K:reJi\¥SyA-nio^^^^ 
Mar  del  Sur,  176.  227,  "8. 

Marde  Sargasso,  99.  ^oo. 
Mar  Dulce.  228. 

Marede  Verrazana.  3t5-  g     33. 

Mare  Oceanum,  41.  9^.  102. 
Margarita.  Do..  ledroiSX. 
Margarita,  island,  }1\ 
Marlarita  of  Austria.  1 59- 
Marigalante,  island.  I47j 
Mariner's  compass    61  63^    9 

102,157.158. 161,  293.  "y 

Marlndicum,  3I4.  343- 
&i.  Giorgio  Baptis  a.  71 

Marinusof  lyre,  74.  75.70. 
Sark,  a  weight,  I74.  244- 
Markland.  28,  34.  40,  41.  42. 
Marmora,  180. 

Marnef,  Jan  de,  352. 

Mar  pacifico,  289.  292.  293- 

Martens,  306.  350- 

Martha's  Vineyard,  227. 

Martin,  Joseph,  3I4-  . 

Martinez.  Ferdinand.  80,  81. 

Martin  V,  Pope,  145. 

IQ7    22Ii 

Anghiera.) 
Mastic,  124.  J  30. 
Mataia.  180. 

Matan,  island.  294.  ^  j^^s- 

Maurice,  prince  of  Orange  a 

sau.  363-  , 
Mauritius  Rwer.  347- 

May  River.  357. 

Mecca.  193. 

Medea.  76-  ,      ,     c^. 
Medina,  Pedro  de  69 

Mediterranean  Sea,  5.  o"- 
Melchorejo  232  233.  J38. 

Melaccha.  island  of  214. 

Mendoza,  Luis  de.  289. 

Mercator,  Gerard  76.  3dO.  3 

Mercatov's  pr«]ection.  3^0. 

MeredilhapRhees,  44- 


INDEX. 


375 


Merrimack  River,  354. 

Mcschita,  Alvaro  dc,  291. 

Mestor,  8. 

Meteran,  Emanuel  van,  318. 

Mexico,  21,  175,  234,  235,  249,  250, 

252,  256-274,  Gulf  of,  352. 
MidjOkul,  24. 

Miles,  sea  and  land,  76,  q8.  305,  331. 
Millet,  283. 
Miruelo,  Diego,  282. 
Mississippi,  state,  275  ;  river,  278,  279. 
Mnesis,  8. 

Mohawk  River,  360. 
Moluccas,  islands,  59,  64,  294,  ^96. 
Mona,  island,  154. 
Moncado,  Don  Hugo  de,  336. 
Montagneurs,  les,  346. 
Montauk  Point,  320. 
Monte  Cristo,  289. 
Montejo,  Francisco  de,  247,  249, 
Monte  Pascoal,  206. 
Monteregius,  John  of,  67, 
Montezuma,  240,  241,  242,  243,  245, 

247,  250,  251,  259,  260-2-/3 

Montreal,  345. 
Moors,  79,  94,  145. 
Morales,  Caspar,  228, 
Moses,  6. 

Mount  Hope  Bay,  30,  34,  37. 
Muller,  Johann,  67. 
Murphy,  Henry  C,  343,  363. 
Mutir,  island,  294. 
Myos  Hormos,  75. 
Myrrh,  213. 

Naddoddr,  22. 

Nantucket,  327. 

Napkins,  264. 

Narragansett  Bay,  320,  321,  325,  326. 

Narrows,  The,  316,  317. 

Narvaez,  Pamfilo  de,  279, 

Navarrete,  Martin  Fernandez  de,  61, 

107. 
Navidad,  Villa  de  la,   133,  136,  148, 

149.  150. 
Naville,  Edward,  20. 
Necho,  59. 
Negropont,  51, 
Nepos,  Cornelius,  60. 
Nequen,  252,  268. 
Newark  Bay,  317. 
Newfoundland,  28,  198,  201. 
New  France,  330,  345,  352,  357,  361. 
New  Gaul,  330. 
New  Land,  185,  207,  297,  299,  306, 

330.  334-  344.  355. 

New  Netherland,  319,  347,  361. 

Newport,  stone  tower  of,  43  ;  situa- 
tion, 3  {5. 

New  Providence,  island,  107, 

New  Spain,  21,  175,  176,249. 


New  World,  206,  216,  217,  334. 

New  York  City,  84  ;  bays,  316,  317  ; 
site,  347,  358. 

Nicobar,   57. 

Nile,  navigation  of,  18  ;  canal  from, 
60. 

Nirando,  Alonso  Perez,  168. 

Nomhre  de  Dios,  176,  342. 

Normans,  297. 

Norombegue,  cape  of,  354,  355  ;  town 
o^  355.  356  ;  river  of,  355,  356, 
357,  359.  360. 

North  America,  185. 

North  Carolina,  302,  306,  311. 

Northmen,  galleys  of,  21,  24;  de- 
ported, 22;  voyages,  25-41. 

North  Sea,  21,  301,  302. 

Norumbega,  346,  351,  352,  356,  360. 

Norway,  22,  23,  24,  333,  334. 

Noun,  the  god,  20. 

Nova  Scotia,  28,  198,  201,  297. 

Novaya  Zemlya,  318, 

Nucay,  119. 

Nuestra  Senora,  La  Mar  de.  125. 

Nueva  Espafia,  21,  175. 

Nuova  Terra,  306-330. 

Nuremberg,  67,  68. 

Olafs,  55. 

Clone,  ^49. 

Oneyde     146. 

Ononda(^    ,  346. 

Onoyants,  les,  346. 

Onslow  Bay,  309. 

Orichalcum,  8,  10,  11,  igg. 

Orinoco  River,  160,  168,  170,  17J. 

Orteguilla,  267. 

Ortel'us,  Abraham,  79,  360. 

Ortubia,  Juan  Perez  de,  224. 

Ostro,  the  wind,  161. 

Otte,  E.  C.  44. 

Otters,  268. 

Oxford,  62. 

Pachol,  264. 

Pacific  Ocean,  289,  292,  293. 

Paesani,  346,  352. 

Paisans  or  paysans,  345,  346. 

Palisades,  the,  348. 

Palfrey,  John  Corham,  43. 

Palos,  87,  95,  96.  ;  ;  ^J 

Palma,  island,  97.  i ; 

Palmetto  trees,  308. 

Panama,  isthmus,  177,  342. 

Panic,  123. 

Panuco,    province,    236,    247;    river, 

275.  276,  277,  278,  279. 
Paor,  281,  284. 
Paper,  252,  264. 
Paria,  Gulf  of,   171;  country  of ,   172, 

173. 


INDEX. 


rascua  Florida  223  _   j.^^„ecsco. 

^M^  ;  Krenzo.  189  ;  P'^^-^"'  '°^- 

Pasqui,  281. 

Patagonians,  2b9.  ^^(^^  226, 

Pearls.  II7.   »7°'  ^"083 

Peasants.  345.  35-«-     v 

Peking.  84-  (^  .58. 

Peltry,  298,  355.  35".  Ja 

Penobscot  River,  354-     ^  -jg  ^e,  7° 

prrestrello.  ^^'f  "%f  °  fW  Rod 

Perez.  Friar  Juan,  9°.  9^  - 

rigo,  133- 
Perpignan,  135' 

Petuneurs,  les.  34  • 

Philippe,  df.^  °  ,^'^1°^'  ^ 
Philippine  Islands.  294^ 

^ISfSr^Ali^  ^^-  ^^'  ''•  '"'' 

rS  of  Hercules.  4.  7.  x5.  X7.  x8. 

21,  59.  <^'  2^^-    ,    1C7.  158.  179- 

?  nkerlon's  coUecUons  jx^  ^^^^ 

Yltz'.'96.  xt8.  X34.  2I4.  =78. 
pSa?:>-cisco  2.8. 
Place.  Jean  de  la,  219. 
Plato.  3.  80- 
Pleihron.  9- 
Pliny.  60.  65. 

Plutarch.  3. 

Porcorosa,  180. 

Point  Juditli.  326- 

Pota,  island.  "4.      .  ^     293- 

Pole,  antarctic,  293  ,  Marco, 

Polo.  Maffeo,  52' 53.  54.  55  3. 

r3';&o%.^52:53.'54.'55. 
Ponente,  wind,  161. 
Pontonchan.  239.  »4»- 
Porcelain,  363- 
Poree.  Fremyn,  340. 

Wu'Reke,  326.  327. 
Porto  Bello.  180. 
Porto  Rico,  X28,  221 
Porto  Santo,  island,  77.  7 
Porto  Seguro.  206. 
Portugal,  84.  X96. 
Poseidon,  5.  7.  XL  *s- 
Potatoes,  283. 
Poughkeepsie,  353- 


Powel,  David.  4:.  44. 

Providence,  325.  320- 

KSyr73;  74.    75.    77.  x82.  X9X. 

PuVbVuuy  Gonzales  d.  187. 

Puertocarrcro.  Alonso.  249- 
Puerto  de  la  Concepc  on   X28 

Puerto  del  Prmc.pe,  125.  330. 
Puerto  de  Ma'e^.  X25     ^^^ 
?S5:l:>al^ataUna,t26. 

Puerto  Grande,  152- 
Puerto  Maria,  127. 
Puerto  Santo.  i2t). 

Kff  Are^-1.  X69    X70. 
PuntadeArracifes.224 
PuntadeCotoche   221^232. 

runta  de  la  Aguda,  170- 
PuntadelaGalera.169. 
runladelaPlaya.x69- 
Punta  Santa,  130.  X3x- 

Quetzalcoatl.  temple  of  254^^ 

Quinsay.  75.  83,  »4.  xi5, 
^.intalbor  242   243.  245.    ^^^ 

Quitlalpitoc,  239.  *'*^'    ^  ^ 

Quohathe,  284. 

Ra,  the  god,  ao. 
Race-conrse,  12. 
uafn  Charles  C,  34- 

Ramusio,  Giovanni  « 

Raritan  Bay,  3X7- 

Ravens,  22,  23- 

Razors,  264. 

Real,  money,  244.  245. 

Red  race,  i. 

Red  Sea.  60.  ^^ 

Redwood,  .93.  213.  '' 

Refugio,  321-  g 

Regiomontanus.  67.  80. 

Retrete.  port,  l»o. 
Reychenes.  24- 

R.baut.  Jean.  340.  344- 
Ribero.  D.ego,  296. 
Rio  Coavzacoalcos  230. 
Rio  de  Banderas,  235- 
Rio  de  Belen,  227. 
Rio  de  Flores,  279- 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  228. 

Rio  de  la  Cruz,  224. 
R^de  la  Plata,  228.  287. 


INDEX. 


377 


Rio  de  las  Gamas,  330. 

Rio  de  las  Palmas,  279. 

Kio  del  Espiritu  Santo,  378,  279. 

Rio  del  Sol,  124. 

Rio  de  Luna,  117. 

Rio  de  Mares,  117,  118,  124,  i8a. 

Rio  de  Montaignes,  319. 

Rio  de  Hf.ves,  279. 

Rio  de  Pescadores,  279. 

Rio  de  San  Anton,  330. 

Rio  Fondo,  330. 

Rio  Grande,  247. 

Rio  Janeiro,  286,  287. 

Rio  Jordan,  280,  284,  330. 

Rio  Nevado,  208. 

Rio  Panuco,  275,  276,  277,  278. 

Rio  Seco,  279,  330. 

Roanoke,  island,  311. 

Roberval,  Sieur  de,  352. 

Roderic,  Master,  67. 

Roffet,  Ponce,  345. 

Roque,  Jean  Fran9ois  de  la,  352. 

Rousselay,  Zanobus  de,'339. 

Rum  Cay,  island,  107. 

Rustichi,  338. 

Rustizielo,  57. 

Ruysch,  Johann,  215. 

Rymer's  Foedera,  188. 

Saint  Amaro,  99. 

St.  Augustine,  89. 

St.  Christopher,  184. 

St.  David's  island,  356. 

St.  Die,  218. 

St.  George's  island,  356. 

St.  Germain,  port  of,  222. 

St.  lago  de  la  Spata,  285. 

St.   John's  island,   W.    Indies,  179 ; 

Canada,  190,  192. 
St.  Julian,  port  of,  287,  290. 
St.  Lawrence,  Gulf  of,  297  ;  isle  of, 

352  ;  river  of,  290,  291,  292,  293, 

298,  .333- 
St.  Malo,  344.  345- 
St.  Lucy's  day,  286. 
Saga  of  Eric  the  Red,  26  ;  of  Thorfinn 

Karlicfne,  34. 
Sagres,  63, 

Saguenay,  345  ;  sea  of,  357. 
Salamanca,  87. 
Salmana,  island,  108. 
Salmon,  29,  30. 
Sanchez.  Rafael,  125,  142. 
Sand-glass,  69. 
Sand-haf!n,  24,  25. 
Sandwich  islands,  75. 
Sandy  Hook,  316,  317,  353. 
San  Juan  de  Ulua,  235. 
Salt,  268. 
Saltes,  141, 
San  Domingo,  128,  172,  179,  232. 


San  Juan  Baptista,  island,  148. 

San  Lazaro,  229, 

San  Lucar  de  liarrameda,  168,  182. 

San  Miguel,  bay  of,  227, 

San  Pablo  River,  276. 

San  Pedro  River,  276. 

San  Salvador,  Cuba,  117  ;  island,  107, 

III. 
Santa  Elena,  cape  of,  279,  289,  28^^ 
Santa  F^,  91,  92,  93. 
Santa  Maria  de  la  Antigua  del  Darien, 

225,  226,  227, 228. 
Santa  Maria  de  Guadalupe,   island, 

147.  157 

Santa  Maria  de  la  Concepcion,  113. 

Santa  Maria,  island,  140 ;  port,  184. 

Santa  Marta,  island,  224. 

Santangel,  Luis  de,  87,  92. 

Santarem  Visconte  de,  64. 

Santee  River,  184. 

Santiago,  Cuba,  231,  233. 

Sant  Joan,  island,  190,  192, 

San  Tomas,  fort  of,  151. 

Santonge  or  Santongeois,  34S,  352. 

Saomete,  island,  113. 

Sardis,  2,  219. 

Scandinavia,  seamen  of,  21,  22,  23. 

Schooner,  Johannes,  220. 

Schoolcraft,  Henry  R.,  42. 

Schott,  Charles  A.,  99,  158. 

Schotti,  Joannis,  182. 

Scio,  island,  124. 

Scotland,  /\fi. 

Scylla,  349. 

Sea-weed.  99,  100,  134. 

Sebastian,  harbor  of,  99. 

Secalart,  Raulin,  352,  353. 

Sanchis,  3. 

Seneca,  Lucius  Annaeus,  76,  80,  88. 

Senecas,  Indians,  346. 

Seres,  74,  75. 

Seti  I.,  of  Egypt,  20. 

Seven'Cities,  79,  84,  190,  195. 

Seville,  141,  143,  285. 

Shetland  Islands,  22. 

Ships,  Egyptian,  18  ;  Phoenician,  18  ; 
Northmen,  24  ;  speed  of,  68  ;  of  In- 
dia, 180. 

Siam,  57. 

Siberia,  58, 

Sidney,  Sir  Philip,  315. 

Sierra  de  Quarequa,  226. 

Sierra  Leone,  66,  158,  213,  286. 

Silver,  119,  243,  251,  265. 

Silveyra,  Fern&o  de,  301. 

Sinae,  74. 

Sines,  227. 

Sirocco,  161. 

Skagefjdrd,  25. 

Skalholt,  25. 

Skraelings,  38,  39,  40. 


INDEX. 


378 

Skraelings*  laml,  4'- 
Skulls,  250. 
Slaves,  Indian,  107. 
Sluyter  I'eier.  363. 
Smith.  Captain  John,  3i8- 
Sneeland,  221. 
Snefelsnes,  24-    ,        ,    ^- 
Snorra..on,  Thorbrana   39. 

Snoro.  Tborbrandson,  34- 

Socoira,  58. 

Soles,  203. 

Solinus.  C.  J"^'"«:  "„9-     387. 

SoUs,  Juan  biaz  dc,  214.  «7. 

Solon,  2,  3.  o-        , 
Somerset  island.  350- 
Somers,  Sir  George,  356- 
Somer's  Island,  350- 

Soulh  America.   if«>.  ><*•      '• 

conquered,  79- 

Spices,  59'  ^■^'        ,,    „„!    2Qt,  296. 
sjice  Islands,  59.  64.  294.  295.    v 

Stadium,  6.  ^ 

Stanley   Hen.7 J^  J-i^;  Sound,  317. 

Staten  Island,  3i&.  3i7  . 

Stephanius  S.gunl   41 

Steppes.  Mongolian,  57- 
Stevens,  Henry,  184. 
Stock-fish.  t93- 
Stow,  John.  ,»97- 

sS'of"e  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins. 

289. 

Straumey,  35- 
Straumfjttrd,  30.  4°. 
Style,  old  and  new.  107- 
Suache,  28. 
Suevi,  61. 

|S»n.'Bis"p  B-yni"*  «■  34. 

Tabasco.  240.  245.  24  • 

Tadore,  island,  294- 
Sout',  sacred  books  of.  20. 

Tale,  232. 
Tanias,  I93-       .  ^ 
Tanzaca.  281.  284. 
Tarenate,  island,  294. 
Tassel,  Robert,  34°. 

Tacancal,  281. 

Tehuacacinco.  250. 

Tendilla,  count  of,  Wl- 

Teneriffe.  97- 

Tepeaquilla.  270- 


Terceira,  74.  207-     „^  ,0- 
Terra  <lc  l.avrador.  200,  aoa. 
TerradellePerle,  211. 
Terra  del  Vcrnno.aSf.. 
Terra  de  Santa  Crui.  207.  a*  < 

TemdeVeraCruz207   2x1. 
Terra  dos  Cortenals,  20S. 
Terra  Florida.  307.  342.  344- 

Terra  ferma.  189.  I92- 
Terra  Nova,  207.  215.  354. 

Terra  Sanctae  Crucis,  287. 
^re'i^torte  Berge.   La.   349. 

Te'r're  dl'NoSibcrge,  357.  358- 

Terre^"""^^""'"°'3"'35»- 

Itrre  Neiifvc,  354- 

Tetzcat,  272-  ,       -   j.,   272. 

Tetzcatlipuca.  the  god,  235.  -"»/. 

Teules.  245.  251.  2bO;  , 

Teuthlille,  239.  241.  242.  243.  245. 
Texas,  275  , 

Tezcuco, '         256. 
Theatre;^^ 

Theve?:  Andre.  351.  ?59.  360. 
Thinae,  227.        ,  ^    ,„. 
Thirkill,  Launcelot,  19^ 
Thompson,  Benjuminl'..  353- 

Thor,  the  god.  30-  ,q  40. 

Thorbrandson,  Snorro.  34.  37.  39.  4 
Thord,  J6nn,  son  ot,  25. 
Thorhall,  36.  37.  42- 
Thorvard.  39- 
Thucydides.  80. 

Thule.  73.  70- 

Tibet,  57-  ^   „        ,« . 

TieriU  de  Ayllon,  284. 

Tierra  de  Gracia,  170.  Hi- 

207. 

Tierra  firme,  no.  179- 
Tigers,  268. 
Tihe.  283. 
Tin,  269. 
Tipbys,  id. 
Titus,  232. 
Tlacupa,  260,  270. 
Tlalmanalco,  258. 
Tlascalla,  250.  251.  25». 
Tlaiateteclo,  239- 
Tlateluco,  the,  267, 
Tobacco,  121.  264.  a&b. 

Tordesillas,  ^f' ^^.n' xkormod.  33. 
Torfaeus,  or  Tortason.  i""» 

34.  41- 
Toriuemtda,  Juan  de   243. 
Torralva,  Juan  de.  270. 


INDEX. 


379 


Torres,  Antonio  dc,    150,  156;  Luii 

(If,  120. 
Tortosa,  187. 
Tortilla,  i>lan(l,  127. 
TosLaiitlli,  I'aolo,  80. 
Tranioiitana,  wind,  161. 
Trees,    12,    108,   114,  115,   116,   124, 

163,  166,   189,  20(;,  212,  223,  266, 

308,  309,  324.  326,  327,  352. 
Triana,  Kodrigo  de,  107. 
Trico,  Catelyn,  347. 
Trinidad,   island  of,    168,    i6g,    170, 

171. 
Trireme,  10,  12. 
Troy,  N.  Y.,  353. 
Tryggvason,  King  Olaf .  35. 
Tsiuenchau,  82. 
Tunguses,  58, 
Turk  Island,  107,   108. 
Turkeys,  268. 
Turin,  papyrus  of,  15, 
Tuspa,  236. 
Tusta,  236. 
Tustepec,  239. 
Tyrker,  29. 
Tyrrhenia,  5,  8. 

Ubygd,  24. 
Ulloa,  Alfonso  de,  71. 
Ulysses,  52. 
Uraba,  Gulf  of,  225. 

Valentine,  David  T. ,  359. 

Valladolid,  182. 

Valparaiso,  140. 

Van  Rensselaer  Island,  361. 

Vargas,  276. 

Varnhagen,  F.  A.  de,  159. 

Vegetables,    9,    121,     123,    129,    147, 
151,  164,   176,  232,  268,  283,  288. 

Velasquez,  Diego,  231,  232,  233,  236, 
237.  278,  359- 

Venezuela,   164,  168, 171. 

Venice,  51,  59,  164,  188,  199,  227. 

Vera  Cruz,  249,  266,    277 ;    land  of, 
207,  211. 

Veragua,  176,  177,  178,  179,  226,  227. 

Vermonde,  isle  de,  355,  356. 

Verrazana  seu  Gallia  nova,  330. 

Verrazzano,  Giovanni  da  :  Varasenne, 

Jean  de,  340 ;  Varesam,  Jehan  de, 

339  ;  Varezano,  jOio,  300  ;   Verar- 

sanus,   342  ;  Verassen,  Jean,    298  , 

Verazano,    Joao,  301  ;    Verazanus, 

John,   315;  Verrassane,  Jehan  de, 

340 ;  Verrazano,  Jean,  357,  358. 

First  voyage  to  America,  298,  299  ; 

second   voyage,    30x3 ;   his    ship, 

301,   304;  letter  to  Francis   I., 

301-303 ;    discovers    land,    305, 

306  ;  map,  314,  315  ;  on  penin- 


sula of  Virginia,  314  ;  Sea  of 
Verrazzano,  315  ;  enters  New 
York  Day,  316;  discovers  the 
Hudson,  317  ;  gives  a  mime  to 
ir.ock  Island,  320 ;  anchors  in 
NarraKansett  Hay,  321-326;  sails 
along  ilie  coast  of  Maine,  327- 
329  ;  extent  of  land  di^tovcred, 
329,  35'.  357;  geographical  ex- 
planation, 331  ;  news  of  his  re- 
turn, 335  ;  unfavorable  opinions 
concerning  the  voyage,  337  ;  his 
former  voyages,  338  ;  aj^nement 
for  a  third  voyage  to  America, 
339  ;  his  death,  340,  341  ;  map 
and  globe,  341.  342. 
Verrazzano,     Ilieionynuis     da,    315, 

339;  map,  315,  330,  343. 
Verrazzano,  Tier  da,  300. 
Verzino,  213,  216. 
Vespasian,  232, 

Vespucci   Amerigo,   his   first   voyage, 
i6o ;     reaches     the     continent     of 
America,    160 ;   explorations,    161- 
165  ;  land  of   Lariab,    166  ;   island 
of  Iti,  167  ;  returns  to  Spain,  167. 
Vespucci's  second   voyage,   173  ;   ex- 
plorations along  the  coast  of  South 
America,    174 ;    returns   to   Spain, 
174. 
Vespucci's  third  voyage,  212  ;  explores 
the  east  coast   of  Brazil,   213  ;  re- 
turns to  Lisbon,  214. 
Vespucci's  fourth  voyage,   214  ;  sails 
southward  along  the  coast  of  Brazil, 
214  ;  Bay  of  All  Saints,  214  ;  returns 
to  Portugal,  a'.  ;ount  of  his  four  voy- 
ages, 217,   2i8  ;  his  name  given  to 
the  continent,  2i8,  219  ;  false  im- 
putations, 220. 
Vicente,  Martin,  77.  . 

Vieusseux,  Geo.  Pietro,  339. 
Vigfusson,  Gudbiand,  33. 
Vikings  ,21. 
Villa,  Pedro  de,  138. 
Villa  de  la  Nrvidad,   133,   136,  148, 

149,  150. 
Villalan,  Doiior,  91. 
Villa  Rica  da  Vera  Cruz,  249,  279. 
Villa  Segura,  277. 
Villegagnon,  Chevalier  359. 
Villers,  350. 
Vinland  discovered,   30  ;  shortest  day 

in,  31-34  ;  island,  41  ;  promontory, 

41. 
Virginia,  peninsula  of,  313,  314,  315, 

318. 
Vision,  prophetic,  158,  180. 
Vries,  David  Pieterse,  347. 

Walckenaer,  Baron  de,  183, 


38o 


INDEX. 


WaldseemUller,  Martin,  2r8. 
Walker,  E.,  99. 
Wassenaer,  Nicolacs  i,  347. 
Walling  Island,  107. 
Wells,  266. 

Western  Sea,  3:';,  343. 
West  Indies,  145,  203. 
Westminster,  201,  203. 
Wheat,  in  Vinland,  35,  37  ;  in  Green- 
land, 35  ;  in  Iceland,  35. 
Wheaton,  Henry,  23. 
Whitehall,  200. 
Wilden,  347. 
Wild-men,  345,  3J7. 
Wine,  171,  I?**. 
Wine-berries,  29,  35,  42. 
Wine-land,  30. 
Wine-wood,  Mi,  37,  42. 
Worthington,  William,  203, 

Xamuiiabe,  283. 
Xamunambe,  281. 
Xapida,  283. 
Xapira,  281. 
Xathi,  283. 
Xicales,  262. 
Xiquipiles,  269. 
Xocntlan,  250. 


Xoxi,  281. 

Yabveh,  sees  the  wickedness  of  man, 

19. 
Yamaye,  island  of,  133. 
Yebra  River,  177. 
Yenyohol,  281. 
Yonge,  C.  D.,  198. 
Yuanta,  148. 
Yuca,  232. 
Yucatan,  148.  175,  214,  215,  229,  230, 

232,  233,  239. 
Yule,  Henry,  55,  57. 
Yurbaco,  183. 

Zacton,  or  Zayton,  82,  120. 

Zamiscaron,  28. 

Zanzibar,  58. 

Zapata,  276. 

Zeno,  Antonio,  45,  46,  50  ;  Carl'^.  45, 

50  ;  Nicolo,  44,  45,  46. 
Zeni  brothers'  voyage,  44,  49,  50. 
Zeus,  assembles  the  gods,  19. 
Zichmni,  45,  49. 
Zipangi,  84.     {See  Cipango.) 
Zodiac,  244. 
Zubu,  island,  294. 


THE  END. 


